


Save Me

by SlyDev



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Abused Draco, Abusive Lucius Malfoy, Alternate Hogwarts House Sorting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Auror Harry, Bad Narcissa Malfoy, Bottom Draco, Businessman Draco, Clueless Harry, Complete, Draco Malfoy Needs a Hug, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Drama & Romance, Drarry, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual relationship, Evil Lucius Malfoy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Good Draco Malfoy, Good Severus Snape, Harry Potter is Bad at Feelings, Harry Potter is Whipped, Humor, Insicure Draco, James Potter & Lily Evans Potter Live, Jealous Harry, Kinda-shy Harry, Lucius Malfoy A+ Parenting, Lucius Malfoy Being an Asshole, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Minor Violence, Naive Draco, No Heavy Smut, No Incest, No war, Oblivious Draco, Oblivious Harry, POV Draco, POV Harry, Pale Draco, Pining Draco, Pining Harry, Possessive Harry, Post-Hogwarts, Protective Harry, Ravenclaw Draco, Sad with a Happy Ending, Shy Draco, Sick Draco, Slightly Dominant Harry, Smart Draco, Teenage Drama, Top Harry, alive jily, alternative universe, bisexual draco, cunning draco, during hogwarts, jily, sweet Draco, vulnerable draco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 64,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25905703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlyDev/pseuds/SlyDev
Summary: Draco has been neglected and abused all his life until one day someone saves him.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 247
Kudos: 944





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Reader!  
> I hope you enjoy this Drarry Story!  
> Please notify me of any mistakes in my writing!  
> 🌹
> 
> A.N.: In this fanfic Draco and Harry haven’t met before and the Potters didn’t die.

“You’re a disappointment” his father said with a sneer as he slapped him hard across the face. Draco could feel the sting of his ring against his face even after his father had left his “room”, or more accurately, his cell.

Sighing, he collapsed on his knees and wrapped his arms around himself as he finally let the tears fall. He had quickly learnt that crying angered his father even more, so he waited until after he’d gone to do so.

Ever since he could remember his parents, in particular his father, had treated him this way.

At first they used him as a servant: making him wash the floors of his huge Manor, having him dust the countless artifacts on the shelves and sometimes even ordering him to clean all the mirrors and windows until they were shiny and perfectly polished.  
When he was done they would give him his meal (he was allowed only one scarce meal a day that consisted in leftovers IF he performed well all his chores) and would lock him up in his cold cell down in the dungeons until his father came down to beat him and torture him.

Then, after he became so weak and his hands started shaking so badly from the lack of nutrition and the effects of the torture curses he endured, his father started using him mainly as a ‘punching ball’.  
Whenever he felt like it, he would go to the dungeons, torture him physically (and even mentally), throw him a box with things to heal himself and a cold meal and would then leave him alone to tend to himself.

Today was no different.

He somehow managed to drag himself to his food and slowly started eating his cold poutine, which was disgusting but it was either this or nothing. When he was done thirty minutes later (a long time for such a small meal, but he didn’t have the strength to go any faster and his stomach wasn’t used to receiving a lot of food), he simply laid down on the cold, hard stone floor and closed his eyes.

He still hadn’t healed his wounds and was quite in a bit of pain, although he had gotten used to struggling through it a long time ago.

He simply laid there in a pool of his own blood and wished he were dead as exhaustion overtook him.


	2. Chapter 2

Auror James Potter quickly cast a ‘Tempus’ as he practically ran through the corridor that lead to the meeting room: fortunately he was just in time.

“Gentlemen, today we will be performing a raid on Malfoy Manor. We have reasons to believe the Malfoys are associated with the Death Eaters and are planning to “create” a new Dark Lord after Voldemort’s death thirteen years ago. I want you all to check out the house and restrain all it’s occupants. I repeat: examine only, do not destroy or take anything. Remember: the Malfoys are a very powerful family and should we trash their home but not find any proof of them being associated with the Death Eaters we could find ourselves in deep waters. Have I made myself clear?” Chief Auror Horkins instructed them.

“Yes, Sir” a few people chorused while others nodded.

“Good. Use your Patronus to notify everyone you’ve found something worth checking out. We’re leaving in two minutes: apparate outside the wards, after we’ve breached, you may proceed with the raid” the head auror ordered them as they prepared to leave.

James quickly glanced at his friend, Sirius, who also was an auror, and the two of them shared a quick smile.

As they apparated outside the grounds of Malfoy Manor, he quickly looked around and found he was standing alone in front of the back of the house.

As red sparks flew in the sky, James quickly entered the property and set out on checking the rooms for dark artifacts. After ten minutes he had only found one object that could he considered as a weapon: a tiny bottle of rat poison, which could harm even a human if ingested.

Since he had received no patronuses, he assumed his fellow aurors had not found anything of interest either. As he walked down a corridor, he opened a door that was locked using a simple ‘Alohomora’ and went down some sets of stairs. 

While the rest of the Manor has looked elegant and sophisticated, this section was cold, old, dreary and fairly spooky.

It looked like it was a dungeon of some sort.

As he checked out all the rooms, he even discovered a wine cellar full of rich and expensive wines. As he tried to open the last door, he found it locked and when he tried the unlocking charm it didn’t work.

‘That’s odd’ he thought as he tried numerous unlocking spells.

One of them finally worked and as the door swung open, he gasped in shock: laying on the floor in a pool of blood was a young boy with blond hair.

He rushed over to him and cradled his upper body in his arms. The boy was deadly pale and very skinny. He also had various injuries that were bleeding profoundly. James felt for a pulse in his neck and was relieved to find one, albeit weak and slow, but a pulse nonetheless.  
After he made sure the boy was breathing too, he quickly cast a patronus charm and instructed his stag to go and get help.

A minute later Sirius and two other aurors were helping him move safely the unconscious boy.

“Quickly! We need to get him to St. Mungo’s as fast as possible!” James said as Sirius and him made their way to the Floo connection and flooed to the hospital.

Immediately a couple of healers came up to them and asked what happened.

“We don’t know: James found him locked up in a room unconscious and bleeding during a raid” 

The healer nodded and wrote down this bit of information; he then told them to set the boy down on a bed and they would take it from there.

“Healer Thorns, this boy needs medical attention immediately, see that he is brought to a room and stabilized” he said. The lady nodded and swiftly moved the bed in front of her while she walked.

“His parents?” the male healer asked.

“We’re assuming they’re the Malfoys. We already sent a message to our superior, he will be here to clarify the situation” Sirius said and the healer nodded, walked away and entered the room the boy was in.

Fifteen minutes later the chief arrived at the hospital and brought them up to par with everything that happened in the raid.

“Nobody found anything related to the Dark Arts, so the Malfoys are clear for that, however you did find a young boy bleeding in their Manor. We will have to see what they know about this, analyze the boy’s memories and decide whether they were the ones that did this to the child or if they are innocent. We already have the two of them in custody, fortunately they didn’t struggle, and are being interrogated by an auror at this very moment. James, please describe how you found the boy” Chief Horkins said.

“I was down in what seemed to be like a dungeon, it was very cold as there was no heating system, as I tried to open the last door, I found it was locked by a complex locking charm and I had to use quite a few unlocking spells. When I opened the door I saw the boy was laying on the floor in a puddle of blood. As I rushed over to him I checked for vitals and found them, thankfully, so I called for Sirius to help me and together we brought him here. The healers have been tending to him for about twenty minutes” James said as the chief wrote down what he was saying.

“Good. Let’s hope he is well enough for us to remove part of his memories so we can see what happened to him...” the chief said as he sat down next to Sirius.

For the next hour the healers worked tirelessly on the boy. Finally when they were finished Healer Montary (that was the name of the healer that was in charge of the boy) came out to tell them about his health condition.

“He is dangerously underweight, so he was probably barely fed before. He also had quite a lot older injuries that were never treated and many scars, some of them old enough to be form 8/9 years ago. As for the more recent injuries, he had quite a few external and internal cuts/bruises, he was bleeding a lot from some open wounds and had a few broken bones. It’s a miracle he is still alive. One more hour and we would have lost him. He did crash a few times while we were working on him but we were able to bring him back, fortunately. He is currently sleeping. We healed everything we could and left a few bruises to heal on their own” Healer Montary said grimly.

“The poor boy...” James whispered. He had heard of people abusing children but never had he encountered a situation in real life.

“We were able to determine the boy was beaten quite regularly from the wounds he sported. Have you gotten hold of his parents?” 

“Yes, we have them in custody at the Ministry. They are refusing to talk however. They are waiting for their lawyer. Also, I’m pretty sure this is their son: a pale complexion, grey eyes and white blond hair”

“What kind of monsters would do that to an innocent child?” Sirius asked. 

Healer Montary looked at him with sad eyes.

“What would happen to the boy’s parents should they be guilty of abusing him? And most importantly, what would happen to the boy himself?” the healer asked as they started walking toward the room the boy was sleeping in.

“Well, there would be a trial and then they would be condemned to a sentence in Azkaban. The boy would have to be placed with a foster family until he is of age” Chief Horkins explained.

Healer Montary nodded and excused himself.

Chief Horkins and Sirius also left: Chief had to regroup the team and collect reports while Sirius had some business to attend to back at the Ministry.

“I’ll catch up with you later” James said as he said goodbye to his friend and as quietly as possible entered the boy’s room.

It was fairly plain with only a few pieces of furniture and a big window. It was cloudy outside.

The boy was laying motionless on the bed under the covers. He had no visible expression on his face.

As he got closer he gasped: his left arm (that was placed over the covers) was covered in blueish-greenish bruises. He hadn’t noticed them before. Injecting in his arm was a tube, probably for nutrition, and connected to his finger was a beeping machine that monitored his heart and blood pressure. He also had an oxygen mask on his mouth.

The poor thing looked so fragile and helpless.  
It made James’ heart clench. No child deserved this.

He himself had a son, Harry, and he couldn’t imagine harming him the way this boy was hurt by his own parents. 

He quietly got a chair and settled on it by the boy’s bed. This child deserved to have someone with him, especially now.

He stayed by his side for the rest of the day: healers came in to check on him, make sure he was alright, give him his pain potions and generally keep him a bit of company for a few minutes. 

The news had spread quickly in the hospital and quite a few people had already came in to express their sadness for him, even if he wasn’t conscious yet. It was nice of them.

That night when he returned home to his own happy son and wife he couldn’t help but wonder what sort of life that poor boy had had until now.


	3. Chapter 3

James returned to sit by the boy’s bed the very next day after he got off work.

The boy’s parents had confessed under Veritaserum and were awaiting trial.

They had told them everything they had ever done to the boy (whose name was Draco, by the way, and he was thirteen) and by the end of their confession everyone was disgusted with them: impossible chores and tasks, beatings for no reason, starving him. You name it.

The soft click of the door alerted him someone had entered the room: it was his wife, Lily.

She smiled sadly as she stood on the other side of Draco’s bed.

“I heard of what happened... he’s so young...” she sniffed as she pushed back a strand of blond hair from Draco’s forehead. He had still not woken up.

James didn’t say anything.

“What will happen to him?” she asked.

“I don’t know... his parents’ trial is tomorrow and I’m sure they will be found guilty, so they will be spending some time in Azkaban. As for Draco, he will be placed with a foster family until he is seventeen...” James said with a frown on his face.

“Why do I get the feeling that you don’t want to leave him?” Lily asked with a small smile on her face.

“Because I don’t. This little boy has already gone through enough pain and suffering to last him a lifetime. I want him to be happy, I want him to have a normal life with a loving family. I guess the idea of leaving him with total strangers doesn’t sit well with me...” James looked up at his wife’s face and found her eyes full of understanding.

A few minutes passed in silence as the couple watched Draco sleep.

“Why don’t we adopt him?” Lily said, startling James.

“What?” 

“Why don’t we adopt him? Harry has always wanted a brother and this is our chance: the two of them are of the same age and I’m sure Harry would make him feel welcome. We have a spare bedroom so that could become Draco’s room” Lily said.

“This idea sounds wonderful, honey, but we can’t legally adopt him without the parents’ consent, which they will never give”

“Then let’s ‘adopt’ him as a foster family” 

“Are you sure about this? Two children to manage aren’t a walk in the park, Lily” James said. He loved his wife’s idea but wanted to make sure she was sure.

“Yes, I am. We did just fine with Harry. Besides, it’s not like Draco’s a baby... It’ll be fine”

“Ok then. I’ll get started with the paperwork” 

James smiled and grabbed Lily’s hand with his.

————————————————————————————

The next day Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy’s trials were taking place: as expected Lucius got a life sentence in Azkaban while Narcissa got 80 years without the possibility of parole.

That was no less than what they deserved.

————————————————————————————

Draco woke up four days after he had been admitted.

“Hey, shhh. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. You’re safe here” Lily said as she tried to calm down the panicking boy.

When Draco’s heart finally slowed down he looked at her warily.

“Hello! I’m Lily” she offered him her hand to shake but he only tensed and looked at warily. 

When he didn’t say anything she went on.

“You were found bleeding and unconscious in a cell in Malfoy Manor. You were brought here at St. Mungos and your parents were arrested for child abuse. They will be serving a lot of time in prison so you don’t have to worry about ever seeing them again” she said and waited for some sort of reaction.

Draco kept on looking at her until he cleared his throat.

“Ho- hhhmpf-“ he kept on clearing his throat so Lily quickly offered him a glass of water from the night stand.

“Tha-ank y-you, Ma-a’m. How-How long ha-have I been-n he-re?” he was shaking so she tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder but instead he backed away further from her and gathered his knees to his chest.

“4 days, dear” she said as she retracted her hand. He relaxed a bit.

“But w-what about my-my...” he tried to say.

“Your parents?” she finished for him.

He nodded shyly.

“They were found guilty of child abuse. You won’t have to see them again. And as for where you will be staying, you’ll be living with me, my husband, James, and our son, Harry, darling. Is that alright with you? You can say no if you don’t want to” she informed him.

“Uhm... okay?” he said quietly and looked at his feet.

Lily chuckled a bit but stopped when she noticed it made the boy uncomfortable. She reminded herself that Draco isn’t used to people being friendly and kind to him. She promised herself in that moment she would love this boy like a true mother and do everything to make him feel loved.

“If the healers say you can, you can come home with me today and we can get you settled in, since legally we have already ‘adopted’ you as a foster family. Would that be alright?” 

“S-Sure?” he said and he still wouldn’t meet her eyes with his own. He was very shy. 

————————————————————————————

In the end Healer Montary insisted that he stay at St. Mungo’s for another few hours, just to make sure he was healthy enough to go home with Lily Potter. Her husband, James, would be meeting them after work in front of the hospital. This didn’t mean he was completely cured, the healers has said that would take quite a while, but at least he was stable. He had to take a few potions everyday and had to go to St. Mungo’s for a checkup at least twice every week to make sure he didn’t suffer a relapse.

He had a bit of a limp and he was aching quite a bit in his side but he didn’t say anything, even as he struggled to walk as fast as Mrs. Potter (who was going at a normal pace). So he bit his lip and carried on, ignoring the pain he was feeling.

Suddenly Mrs. Potter turned around and he immediately stopped walking, thankful for the little pause. He panted quietly, trying to not make any sounds.

She frowned at him.

“Draco?”

He kept on looking at the ground and at clutching his side.

“Draco, are you in pain? We can walk as slowly as you need to, sweetie. You can tell me” she said as she quickly took his hand to steady him when she noticed he was wavering a bit.

Draco nodded and started walking again at a slower pace and with his limp a lot more visible than it was before. As he walked he didn’t notice the sad expression Lily had as she held onto his bony hand.

As they exited the building James walked up to Draco who immediately looked at the floor.

“Hello Draco, it’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m James” he said as he extended his hand.  
When Draco took it he was shocked by how bony and weak his hand and grip were.

The hospital had been giving him IV Fluids through an intravenous tube but the years of lack of nutrition couldn’t be erased in a sigle week. 

“You must be hungry! Let’s go home and have a bite. Then if you’re feeling well enough we can go to the Manor and get your belongings and bring them to the house” James said as he placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder but removed it when he saw the boy tense.

James looked at his wife.

‘He’s not used to physical contact that isn’t abuse’ she mouthed at him and he nodded.

“C’mon, dear. I’ll apparate us. The house’s name is Godric’s Hollow” James said as he took Draco’s hand while Lily held onto his arm.

Closing his eyes, Draco side-apparated to his new life.


	4. Chapter 4

As they arrived, Draco opened his eyes and found he was in a comfy living room.

“I’ll give you the tour of the house” Lily said as she took him around and pointed out the spaces and finally stopped in front of the spare bedroom.

It was a fairly big room with a window that overlooked the garden. There also was a bed, a desk with a chair and a wardrobe.

“You can decorate it however you like. It’s yours” Lily said and without waiting for a response went back down the stairs and left him alone. Since he was on the second floor of Godric’s Hollow, he had a nice view of the setting Sun from his window. It was beautiful.

The main themes of the room seemed to be the colors grey and black: the bedpost was black and the bed was covered in grey sheets; the desk was made out of black wood while the comfy chair was grey with black designs: the wardrobe was of the same material and color of the desk. 

Before Draco had associated black with cold and emptiness, but now, as he watched the golden light of the Sun fill the room, he changed his mind. Maybe black wasn’t so bad...

While Harry’s room had looked more personal (it was decorated in red and gold, a curious combination of colors, and had posters up on the walls), Draco’s room looked more empty and yet elegant. 

As he descended the stairs slowly and with effort, James came up to him and asked if he felt he could manage a trip to the Manor to get stuff he wanted

“I don’t really... uhm... I don’t...” 

James looked at him with questioning eyes.

Draco lowered his head.

“You don’t...?” James urged him on.

“No... uhm... never mind...” 

“You can tell me, Draco” he said as he placed a hand on the blond’s shoulder.

“I don’t really... uhm...have... anything to get... I mean...” he trailed off. He still was looking at his feet.

“Are you sure? No clothes? Nothing?” James asked him.

“I’m not sure where my parents put them... They usually had someone hand me some clothes every other day so I don’t know where they kept them”

“Oh, well, don’t worry, we’ll get to that later. Isn’t there something else that maybe you want to get from the Manor?” 

“Just one thing...” 

“Great! Then let’s go get it! The wards will only let you go in because of your blood. I’ll wait for you outside alright?” 

When Draco nodded, James took hold of his hand and apparated them outside the Manor’s grounds.

As Draco limped inside the house he ‘walked’ as quickly as possible from his old cell, got the object he was looking for and went back out. James was still there, waiting for him with a big smile.

“Done already?”

“Yes, Sir” Draco nodded.

“You really don’t have to call me ‘Sir’, Draco. ‘James’, or even ‘Dad’ if you want, is fine”

“Ok” Draco said but refrained from calling James anything for now.

As they apparated back Draco swayed on his feet and James had to physically hold him up to keep him from falling.

“I think that’s enough apparating for now. Why don’t we go and have some lunch” James said as he helped Draco to the kitchen where Lily was placing food on the table.

“Hello boys, I hope you’re hungry! Today we’re having roast chicken with mashed potatoes. I hope you like it, Draco. By the way, is there any kind of food that you don’t like or that you can’t eat?”

“Uhm, I’m not sure...” he answered quietly.

Lily immediately understood: he hadn’t been fed enough food to know what he liked and what he didn’t like. So she let the matter drop.

As the three of them sat at the table, James and Lily started eating while Draco only picked at his food.

“Don’t push yourself, Draco: eat only what you want to. It’s natural that you’re not feeling hungry when you were barely fed before. Don’t worry, we’ll get there eventually” Lily said when she noticed Draco was looking with dread at all the food she had placed on his plate.

Draco nodded and pushed away his plate and waited in silence with his head down for the adults to finish.

Lily pointed at him with her head so her husband started speaking.

“So, can I ask what you took from the Manor?” 

Draco nodded and pulled out from his pocket a little black bouncy ball. He held it in his hand and showed it to his foster parents.

“A house elf gave it to me when I was little because I didn’t have anything to do in the cell. When father found out he was punished for showing me kindness” he explained quietly when the adults just looked at him.  
Immediately their eyes softened as they smiled sadly at him.

“Was that the only toy you had growing up?” Lily asked him.

Draco shrugged.

“It wasn’t so bad. When I was little my parents mostly had me do chores and when it got too much for me, they just locked me up in a cell: at least I had this to keep me company. I used to throw it against the wall and have it bounce back into my hand. That was how I passed most of my hours anyway...” he trailed off. 

Lily looked at him horrified while James just lowered his head.

Sensing the atmosphere had changed, Draco tried to switch the attention to something else.

“So... uhm.... you said you have a son?”

“Yes, his name’s Harry and he’s your age. Right now he’s at Hogwarts but he’ll be coming home for the Christmas Holidays!” 

“What’s Hogwarts?”

This time James and Lily looked at him as if he’d just sprouted two heads.

“You don’t know what Hogwarts is?” James asked him.

Draco shook his head.

“Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a school for young witches and wizards. There you will learn Transfiguration, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, History of Magic, Charms and two more electives” Lily said.

“I’ll go there?” Draco asked. If he’d not misunderstood Lily’s words, he would be going there.

“Of course! You can’t not go to school! You’ve already missed two years, so I’m afraid you’ll have to catch up, however I have faith in your capabilities. By September next year you’ll be ready to go to school. 

“O-Okay...” he didn’t really know what to say.

After they finished dinner, Draco offered to clean the dishes but Lily wasn’t having it, so James asked Draco if he wanted to rest for a bit, to which he agreed. Honestly he had been feeling a bit tired.

“It’s alright. Go rest for a bit. We don’t want you to strain yourself: you’re not used to this much activity and food, so we’ll take it slowly”

Draco nodded and slowly limped up to his room. A few minutes later for the first time he went to sleep warm and comfy in a soft bed.

————————————————————————————

Meanwhile Lily and James

“The poor thing... can’t even finish a little plate of food... those monsters got only half of what they deserved” James said.

“And he’s so sweet and polite...” Lily answered.

“...and kinda quiet too. He really doesn’t talk that much does he?” James said.

“If Harry were here he’d probably overwhelm Draco with his constant chattering about Quidditch moves and of how much he hates Theodore Nott”

“We’ll have to warn him to try to not crowd Draco as well. From what I’ve seen he’s not really comfortable with physical contact probably because the only contact he got before was... well...” 

Lily stayed quiet. She didn’t even want to thing about what went on in the Manor before that raid.

“I was maybe thinking that if Draco’s up to it, later we could go to Diagon Alley and get the things he needs. It’s a week day so it’ll be less crowded”

“Sure thing, but let him rest a bit, honey. He needs it”

James nodded and smiled at his wife.


	5. Chapter 5

When Draco woke up about an hour and a half later it was early in the afternoon.

He didn’t know what to do so he just stayed in his room and played with his ball on the floor: he threw it low in the air and caught it in his other hand.

Eventually he heard the click of the door opening.

“Oh, you’re awake! Sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in, I was just checking if you were alright! Have you been up for long?” Lily asked him as she moved to sit with him on the floor.

“No. Just half an hour.” he said. She frowned a bit.

“And you’ve been in here, alone, sitting on the floor and playing with a ball?” she asked him and he nodded.

“You know, you could have come down. We were discussing going on a trip to Diagon Alley together to get the things you need!” she said as she ruffled his hair.

“I didn’t want to disturb you” he said quietly.

“You’re not disturbing us at all! We want you there with us, sweetie!” she said as she got up and then helped him stand up. She noticed he had gotten more comfortable with her and James touching him. Hopefully this was a good sign.

They went down the stairs where James was waiting for them.

“Ah, you’re awake! Do you think you can manage a trip to Diagon Alley to get the things you need?” he asked him and Draco nodded. He did feel a bit better now after his nap.

“Alright then! We’ll floo this time because I don’t want to risk your health by apparating again” 

He had heard of apparating before because his father sometimes did it when he came to his cell instead of walking down to the dungeon but he didn’t know what “floo” meant. He refrained from asking.  
James took his hand and stepped inside a fire place and threw out some powder and said clearly “Diagon Alley!”. 

He felt a tingling sensation in his body and a second later they were leaving the fire place and walking into a crowded street full of shops and people. Lily took his hand while James walked close to him. 

He was looking around. He had never been around so many people...

“We’ll go to Gringotts first, it’s the Wizarding bank” James said as they entered a tall building. Inside there was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, casting golden light on... little people?

“Those are goblins, Draco. They work here and are not very social, however they are perfectly polite. Don’t let them intimidate you”

He nodded.

“I’d like to access the Malfoy vault” James said and the goblin looked at him and then at Draco with a piercing stare.

“And does young Mr. Malfoy have his key?” he asked in a weird voice.

James pulled out a little silver key from his pocket and handed it to the goblin.

“Your wand, please” he then asked. James took out his wand from the sleeve of his robes and handed it to the goblin, who nodded and returned it.

“Follow me” he said as he lead them to the back of the bank and hopped into a cart. As they rode it he watched as they passed what seemed to be an infinite number of vaults until they finally came to a stop. 

The goblin opened the door with the key and waited outside for them to enter.

As he walked in he watched with wide eyes the tall piles of gold, the jewels, the towers of ancient books and manuscripts and couldn’t help but wonder who all this wealth belonged to.  
He knew his family was rich (the huge and classy manor was a dead giveaway) but he had never seen his parents use their wealth for trivial things: the odd party held in the ball room was it and the only reason he knew was from the leftovers he was brought and the mess there was to clean after the party was over.

He stood there and waited for his foster parents to do what they needed to do.

“So. What do you want to take?” James asked and Draco raised his eyebrows.

“What?”

“What do you want to take?” 

“...take?” why was James asking him to take something?

James chuckled.

“This is your family vault: legally, since your parents are in prison, you are the owner of the Malfoys and Blacks’ wealth” James said. Suddenly there was a ‘popping’ sound and a large bag filled with galleons appeared from thin air and emptied itself in the pile of gold and then disappeared.  
Draco looked at James with disbelief in his eyes.

“Ah, that happens when your family company earns money. Currently it is being run by your father’s employees. Don’t worry: when you’re old enough you can decide to take control of it or not. It pretty much runs itself, so it’s your choice” Lily said.

Draco simply nodded. All of this was his? Well... that was... uhm... something...

“What exactly does my father’s company do?” he asked.

“It mainly specializes in land investments and ownerships. It produces a steady and quite large income yearly from what we’re told but for now you don’t have to worry about that, dear: you’re young and deserve a childhood. Lessons in business can come later on” Lily said.

Draco nodded again.

“So I have to take something?” he asked after a minute.

“Well, you don’t have to, but I suggest you do. It’s good for you if you have a sum of money to keep with you, not necessarily a lot, just enough for an emergency or something” James said.

“Okay” he answered and took the small leather pouch James was offering him.

He took it and filled it halfway through with galleons. 

“Is this enough?” he asked.

Lily nodded and smiled at him.

“Would you like me to hold that for you, sweetie? Since you don’t have pockets...” she asked him. He accepted her offer gratefully. After all, he didn’t want to lose the money.

“Here, this is yours. It should have been given to you when you started Hogwarts....Wear it” James said as he handed him a ring.

“What is it?” he asked. Why did he want him to wear a ring?

“This is the Malfoy signet ring: you can see your family crest engraved on it. It was worn by your ancestors and now you. It will pass on to your children, if you ever have any, and so on” James said but Draco didn’t give any visible response as he was busy staring at the jewel in his hand with a small pout.

He recognized it now. In fact, he knew this ring well unfortunately. He had felt the sting of it on his cheek and knew the marks it left on his body like the back of his hand after years of beatings. 

Suddenly James realized exactly what was wrong with the ring and mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. 

“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to, Draco” he said as he placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder but the blond didn’t register what he said as his mind was occupied with various thoughts.

What if by putting on this ring he would become like his father? What if by wearing it he was justifying everything his parents had done to him? Would his father even want him to have it? After all he hadn’t given it to him before... Was he even worthy of being called a Malfoy?

James looked at his wife worriedly when Draco didn’t say anything.

“Draco?” Lily asked him gently.

Draco looked up and surprisingly Lily saw determination in his eyes.

“I’ll wear it” he said and slowly placed the ring on his right hand’s ring finger. It felt slightly loose on his small thin hand but it didn’t matter.

As they left Gringotts, Draco was quite conscious of the added weight on his right hand. He would prove them all he wasn’t like his father. He would prove he was worthy to call himself a Malfoy.

Meanwhile Lily Potter couldn’t help but admire this little boy’s courage at wearing a ring he associated with horrible memories.


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay, so first of all I think we should go to the Jewelry Shop to get the ring’s fitting charm renewed. Then we probably should head to Twilfitt and Tattings instead of Madam Malkin’s” Lily said as she took Draco by the hand. She didn’t want him to get lost in the big crowds.

“Why?” James asked her. They usually got their robes and clothes from Madam Malkin’s robe shop.

“Because I’m afraid Madam Malkin’s employees are big gossips and can’t resist spreading out all kinds of information to anyone who will listen. If we go there I assure you by the end of the day everyone in Diagon Alley will know we’ve taken Draco in and I don’t want him to be the subject to rumors. We were lucky enough everyone at St. Mungo’s who knew the reason why Draco was in the hospital was obliviated. We can’t risk anyone knowing of the abuse he went through because he will very likely be bullied and teased mercilessly and I won’t stand for it. We’ll go to Twilfitt and Tattings. Besides, I think Draco’s parents used to shop there because it is considered more upper class by pureblood families” Lily said and James nodded.  
He understood well his wife’s reasons for not wanting anyone to know exactly why Draco was with them. He already cared a lot for him and didn’t want him to go through even more pain than he already had.

After they visited the jewelry shop where a man (probably the owner) charmed Draco’s signet ring to fit him perfectly and to expand as he grew, it was time to acquire some clothes. As they entered Twilfitt and Tattings immediately a shop assistant asked if she could help them and overall she was very polite and didn’t ask any questions, which was perfect. One hour later Lily had him buy clothes he liked and fit him well: several sets of robes, comfy pajamas and normal clothes.

In one hour Lily and James even discovered an unexpected thing: Draco’s favorite color was mint green. An important bit of information to save for later.

Draco was already preparing to carry the bags of clothes when James magically shrunk them and handed them to Lily (who put them in her bag) while sending a quick wink at Draco.

Next they went to Flourish and Blotts to buy Draco’s school books as he would have to catch up with the Hogwarts First and Second Year’s Curriculums. James also suggested he buy a book called “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”. It was written by a Muggle guy called ‘Jules Verne’.  
He knew if his father ever found out he was reading Muggle books he would probably find a way to break out of prison to come and murder him... Shaking his head he cast those kind of thoughts aside: his father couldn’t hurt him anymore. So he bought it.  
Again Lily stored them in her bag.

As they were walking to a shop James had called “Potage’s Cauldron Shop” he noticed with the corner of his left eye a few well dressed middle aged women were staring at him and consequently making him feel uncomfortable. Was it because of his complexion? He knew white blond wasn’t a common hair color but that didn’t mean people could openly (and rudely) stare at him...

James quickly put a hand on his left shoulder and started walking closer to him, effectively shielding him from their looks, and glared at the two witches. 

They finally arrived at the shop where Lily selected for Draco a Copper Cauldron: perfect for brewing all types of potions at a fast speed.

(By then Draco was already beginning to feel a bit tired again. His limp had gotten a bit better after his nap so it wasn’t that obvious when he walked but still he wasn’t used to this much physical movements.)

Then they went to Slug & Jiggers Apothecary where they bought a vast range of Potion ingredients: Asphodel, Bat Wings, Beetle Eyes, Cat Hair, Dandelion Roots, Dittany, Flobberworms, Newts, Salamander Blood and much more.  
Draco found himself drawn to all the ingredients, wanting to know their properties and purposes. He knew Potions would be a subject he would enjoy.

After that they headed to Scribbulus Writing Implements where they bought a few quills (Draco particularly liked one that had a Peacock’s feather), ink and some parchment.

Next they went to Magical Menagerie: a shop where they sold animals. James had insisted he got a pet since Harry already had one (an owl) and he said it would be great company; however as he went into the shop he didn’t see even one animal he vaguely liked. 

Since he was feeling a bit blue after visiting the pet shop, James decided to treat him to ice-cream.

“Draco, dear, are you sure you don’t want to get some ice-cream?” Lily asked him.

“Yeah... I’m not hungry. Sorry...” he said quietly.

“Don’t apologize, sweetie. It’s completely fine you’re not hungry” she said as they continued with their shopping mission in Diagon Alley. 

“At least let me take you to Sugarplum’s Sweets Shop” James pleaded. He really wanted Draco to get at least something sweet.

“James, don’t push him. He’s not hungry!” Lily said in a scolding voice as she patted affectionately Draco’s head.

“It’s fine...” Draco said quietly. He didn’t want to be the cause of any arguments.

“See? He says it’s okay!” James said with a hopeful smile.

“Only because he’s too polite to say no, honey...” Lily muttered as James practically dragged her and Draco to the sweets’ shop. One could say her husband had a hell of a sweet tooth, just like her son.

When they were inside James excitedly picked a variety of sweets he suggested Draco tried: a Chocolate Frog, a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, a Pumpkin Pastie, a Cauldron Cake, a bundle of Liquorice Wands and a Sugar Quill.  
The only sweet Draco himself asked to buy was a Blood-flavored Lollypop...out of curiosity.

James considered buying some Pepper Imps (they allowed you to breathe fire and made smoke come out from your ears and nose) and giving them to Draco as a joke since he knew Draco would eat anything he told him to, but then he remembered Draco was quite tenderhearted and wasn’t like Harry, who enjoyed pranking and getting pranked. So, he refrained himself from buying them.

As they left the candy store they stopped walking and Draco used this much needed break to breathe and rest a bit. He was already feeling quite tired and his joints ached.  
He silently watched as James and Lily quietly discussed something. Finally James seemed to have his way again as he jumped in delight, kissed his wife on the cheek and announced they were going to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Draco inwardly sighed: he didn’t feel like he could take another step without collapsing; instead he simply nodded and smiled awkwardly at James’ excitement as he dragged him yet again to get another shop. This one had some brooms displayed in the windows.

“This is where you’ll get your first broomstick, Draco” he said as he placed his right hand on his upper back while he pointed at the shop with his left.

“For what purpose?” he asked.

“For Quidditch of course!” James said “It’s the best fun game: the object of the game is to score more points than your opponents. Each goal is worth ten points and catching the Golden Snitch is worth one-hundred and fifty points. Catching the Snitch will end the game. You play in a pitch with...” James carried on explaining the rules of Quidditch (which to Draco seemed to go on forever) as they entered the shop.  
Lily walked behind them and sighed while shaking her head when she saw her husband practically show Draco everything the shop had in display. Secretly she knew her husband had always desperately wanted to be the one who introduced their child to Quidditch. Instead Harry had received his first broom as a gift from his godfather, Sirius Black, effectively robbing James of his chance to explain every single little detail of the sport to him because Harry, being only seven years old, had wanted Uncle Sirius to explain everything to him.  
Well, it seemed like her husband wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice...

Draco didn’t seem to be that much interested however as he obediently followed James without complain wherever he went and listened to what he had to say without interrupting or making contributions of his own to the monologue her husband was reciting.

In the end James bought Draco the same model of broom Harry had, a grey and blue Quidditch uniform, Quidditch gloves and a broomstick servicing kit.

“But if the Seeker catches the Snitch and basically wins the game for his team, doesn’t that make all the other players’ efforts totally useless?” Draco quietly asked as they left the shop with their purchases. Lily had to suppress a chuckle as she saw her husband freeze (he was probably having a stroke) and stare at Draco in disbelief.

“I mean, they should change the rules so that the Snitch is only worth...thirty points but still ends the game. So the game is more about team work instead of “in the end everything is up to the seekers”. It would be more balanced that way” Draco continued when he received no response.

“Change Quidditch?!” James said in a panic. If there was one thing he loved more than sweets it was Quidditch and the idea only of changing his beloved sport flabbergasted him.

“It actually makes a lot of sense” she piped up and Draco gave her a small smile. The first she had ever seen. Her heart swelled in her chest.  
Turning he head, she then laughed out loud when her husband was incapable of forming a coherent sentence.

It was starting to become a little dark outside as the Sun was beginning to set.

After about two minutes James finally regained his bearings and quickly changed the subject.

“Lets go to the furniture store before it gets too dark.” he said as the trio headed to the shop.

Once they were inside the two adults had Draco look around as they helped him select some furniture to add to his room. 

Draco chose a fluffy black/dark grey carpet for the floor and light grey curtains for his window.

Quietly Lily slipped away, found what she was looking for and had it wrapped in paper while she paid for it separately and returned to her husband and son.

Draco in the meantime had also chosen to get a dark grey comfy lounge chair that he would place next to the window so he could read.  
James also had suggested he bought some pillows so Draco had gotten some comfy and soft looking ones to place on his bed and chair. 

“This will go nicely as well in your room, Draco” Lily said as she showed him a tall white lamp which he could place in the corner behind his chair to have some light while he read it if was nighttime. Draco nodded in agreement. 

“This way I also have some light if I’m by the desk” he muttered.

“You’re right” Lily answered, having heard what he had just said. Draco, despite everything, was proving to have fairly good taste. Evidently he preferred simple things to more flashy ones and didn’t like to occupy too much space, unlike her other son who instead filled his room with junk and never tidied up after himself. 

Draco also got a small bookshelf for his books (it even had a cupboard so if he wanted to he could also store his cauldron and potion ingredients inside it).

James then tried to convince Draco to buy a wall broom holder so he could have his broomstick with him at all times. Draco wasn’t sure about this.

“Why would I need it?” he asked.

“Because! It’s your broom!” James said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Don’t broomsticks go in a shed or something?” he asked.

“A SHED? YOU WANT TO PUT YOUR POOR BROOMSTICK IN A COLD AND LONELY SHED?!” James shrieked like an eight year old girl and Draco flinched.

Draco was looking at him with timid eyes so Lily decided to step in. Her husband was quite passionate about Quidditch and didn’t realize not everyone shared his love for the sport.

“James, if our son doesn’t want to keep his broom in his bedroom like you and Harry do, then he won’t. We have a perfectly accommodating broom closet” she said without even realizing she called Draco as her son. It just came natural to her.

“But-But why?” James asked in a childish manner and Lily internally rolled her eyes. She had seen her husband use the puppy-eyes to get what he wanted but this time she had a feeling Draco wasn’t going to be moved on this matter.

“Because... it’s ugly...” Draco said quietly. She was sure this time her husband was going to have a proper stroke as he was staring with his mouth open at Draco, who was now looking at the floor as if he’d just done something he shouldn’t have.

“That’s enough, James. It’s Draco’s room and he can put whatever he wants in it” she said as she placed herself between James and Draco, forcing her husband to look at her in the eye. Recognizing a warning look when he saw one, James sighed, defeated, and nodded.

“Sorry...” he muttered and crossed his arms over his chest as he pouted.

Ignoring her husband’s obvious attempts at being a child (she did however have a fond look on her face), she turned back to her son and winked at him, earning herself another little (and rare) smile.

“Is there anything else you think you need?” she asked him as the three of them continued with their shopping trip.

“I don’t think so...” he said. Right now he couldn’t really think of anything else he would need as he was really tired after several hours of shopping and waking around.

“We can always come back if you forgot anything, sweetie” she said.

They then paid for their stuff and left the building.

By now Draco was exhausted and was struggling to keep his eyes open while trying to place a foot in front of the other. James and Lily noticed this and shared a look. What they didn’t know was that Draco was also in considerable pain... the effects of his healing potions were probably starting to go away so he would have to take them again later that evening.

“I think that’s enough for today... we can go get your wand tomorrow. After all, the day you get your wand should be special and dedicated only to that” James said. Draco simply nodded. He felt his head was spinning.

James who was standing directly in front of him noticed Draco was unsteady on his feet and caught him in his arms before he could fall.

“Let’s go home, honey. I’m afraid we stressed our son enough. He should have been home resting, and instead we took him shopping...” Lily said as they quickly headed to the public floo service and flooed home. 

James carried Draco up to his room and gently placed the sleeping boy on his bed.  
He didn’t mind: he often did that to Harry when he fell asleep on the sofa. What really scared him though was just how light his son really was. He could feel bones beneath his clothes...

It was only half past six so Draco wold have about an hour of rest before dinner was ready. Honestly, they didn’t know if Draco would even be hungry as he had already eaten at lunch.  
Not wanting to be negative, Lily started making a simple meal which she knew could stimulate Draco’s appetite: tomato soup with warm bread to dip in.

In the meantime, James took out all their purchases from her bag: he sent the robes and clothes to wash and dry themselves so that they would be clean by the time Draco woke up; he also brought the magically shrunken purchases to Draco’s room and quietly set them on his desk. Draco could organize them when he wanted to.

James then went downstairs again and organized all of Draco’s sweets in a basket which he left on the kitchen counter.

Sighing he sat on the sofa and started doing some of his work-related paperwork while his wife cooked dinner in the other room. He would have helped her, but he hadn’t even offered as he already knew the answer would be ‘no’. He was a complete disaster in the kitchen: this fact was proven by the ‘hilarious’ story Sirius liked to tell of the time he tried to cook some pasta and ended up burning down the stove.

As he worked he was distracted by his thoughts who kept on wondering to the sleeping boy upstairs.


	7. Chapter 7

When Draco woke up he felt a bit more rested but his head was still pounding and his whole body hurt.

Groaning he slowly sat up in bed and looked around with blurry eyes.  
He saw his pain potions had been left on his nightstand and in one gulp he downed them both: instantly he began to feel better.

Standing up, he noticed their purchases from earlier had been left on his desk.

Suddenly an overwhelming smell of food filled his senses and he literally had to cup his mouth and nose with his hand to stop himself from throwing up. At lest now he knew the potion had taken effect fully.

As he walked down the stairs, James instantly was by his side. 

“Hey! How are you feeling? Have you taken your medication?” he asked him as he put down some papers.

“Better, yes I already have” he answered and James nodded.

The two joined Lily for dinner, which was already waiting for them on the table.

Lily watched nervously as Draco sipped at his soup and took notice of the way Draco avoided the bread but seemed to like the soup. This time, not wanting to make Draco uncomfortable, she had poured less food in his plate so he was actually able to finish his meal. She marked this as progress.

When dinner was done Draco offered to do the dishes (again) but was denied. Instead Lily offered to help him organize his purchases and by the end of the night all his new furniture had been placed in his room, his books were sitting on the bookshelf, his cauldron and potion ingredients were stored in his cupboard, his clothes had been neatly folded/hanged in his wardrobe, his Quidditch gear was downstairs in the dedicated cupboard and his writing utensils were on his desk. 

Suddenly Lily pulled out from her bag another package (this one was wrapped) and handed it to him.

“Here, it’s for you. I hope you like it” she said.

Uncertainly he teared away the wrapping paper and with wide eyes stared at her gift.

A gorgeous mint green leather desk mat was in his hands. He looked in awe at it and then at Lily who was smiling at him.

“So your desk doesn’t get stained by-” she didn’t get to finish because he launched himself into her arms and hugged her. 

After her initial surprise, she hugged him back; when she heard him whisper “thank you” she had to hold back her tears of joy. 

When Draco broke their embrace he immediately placed the mat on his desk and rearranged everything neatly so that they were in their original positions.

“There’s also one more thing” she said as she summoned the orchid from downstairs.

“To add a little more color to you room” she said as she gave him the white orchid. 

Draco gave her a beautiful big smile and placed the plant on the bookshelf, away from the light, because orchids grow best when they aren’t in direct sunshine or else they’ll burn. 

“I love it” he said as he admired his room “Thank you” he then added while turning to face Lily. She smiled.

————————————————————————————

The next day the three of them returned to Diagon Alley to get Draco’s wand from Ollivander’s.

As they entered the shop the man greeted them in a friendly way.

“Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Always a pleasure! How may I help you today?” he asked.

“We’re here to purchase a wand for this young man” James said as he patted Draco on the shoulder.

Mr. Ollivander took a good look at him and started muttering to himself as he walked to the high shelves filled with boxes, pulled out a case from one of them and handed him the wand inside.

“Cherrywood, precisely 10 inches, reasonably pliable” he said.

Draco took the smooth red colored wood with both hands and examined it: it was nice and he liked the simple shape of it.

“Go on, try it” Mr. Ollivander said and Draco took the wand with his left hand, swished it and immediately on the counter a glass vase filled with dying flowers broke. Draco jumped in surprise while Mr. Ollivander simply repaired it and started muttering again.

“Left handed... mhh... not very common... interesting...” he said as he handed him another wand. 

“Vine, 13 inches, slightly springy” he said.  
Draco examined the wand: it was gnarled, of a light color and was very long and thick at the tip. He didn’t particularly like it... and was slightly relieved when he tried it and the vase broke again.

Eight wands later Mr. Ollivander was repairing the vase again and Draco was starting to get worried: he stood there nervously as James placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly Mr. Ollivander narrowed his eyes while looking at him and craned his head to the side.

“Perhaps...” he said and went to the very back of his store. He came back with an ancient looking box that was all dusty and took out from it a white wand that was very thin and simple looking yet elegant. 

As he gently gripped it he felt a surge of power going through his body and as he swished the wand towards the vase instantly the dying flowers in it regained their color and seemed to come back to life.

“Looks like we’ve found your match, Mr. Malfoy” Mr. Ollivander smiled at him.

He looked at James and Lily who were smiling widely at him as well.

“Whitewood, precisely 11 inches, rigid. It’s core is White Moon Fish Fin”

“I’ve never heard of this type of wand core” James said and Lily nodded in agreement.

“You haven’t heard of this core as it hasn’t been used in thousands of years because of the magical fish’s rarity and the only person who was able to lure them took this secret to their grave to not impact them ecologically. The White Moon Fish Fin core is powerful and loyal and generally produces spells of particular force and elegance.  
This wand is extremely loyal and will not work for any other person except for its original owner. It is powerful and in my experience this type of wood produces the fewest accidents, the least foolish errors and the most elegant charms and spells, so it goes well with this particular core. It is a sophisticated wand, capable of highly advanced magic. Wands made with Whitewood are complex, intriguing and often mysterious, just like the owners who best suit them. This one is well versed in healing magic (when healing or removing dark magic the tip of the wand will get tinted with red or black streaks of color - depending on the magic you are dealing with) however it is also adapt to curses. A first example happened right now: those flowers were well on their way to death and Mr. Malfoy returned them to full health with a swish of his wand: for this reason I suspect he may have a gift in Magical Healing. However, I also have generally observed this type of wand seems most at home with a wizard of conflicted and manipulative nature and a person which went/is going through a trauma and dealt/are dealing with it. As a wand it is not easy to master so I would only consider placing it in the hands of a witch or wizard with great talent. These wands also have a peculiarity: they can sense people who have (or may have) dark intents towards their owners and thus are very protective. For example, if Draco were to be unconscious and someone tried to harm him, the wand would cast a powerful shield to protect him for how long it would be needed.” 

Mr. Ollivander’s words stunned them. 

“Only eleven wands of this type have ever been made and I must say I am quite honored to have finally paired the last and only one with a White Moon Fish Fin core” Mr. Ollivander said as James and Lily paid for it.

Draco looked at the wand in his hand warily.  
Why did it chose him? Did it think he had a troubled personality? If there was one thing Draco didn’t think he was was mental. Merlin, did he go insane after all those years spent alone with a bouncy ball in a cold cell? Is that why his wand deemed him a ‘troubled personality’? 

He asked himself all these questions as he walked behind James and Lily, who had already left the shop and were waiting for him outside.

As he neared the voice Mr. Ollivander’s voice stopped him.

“Mr. Malfoy” he said.

Draco turned around to face him.

“This wand has been waiting for you and only you for thousands of years: it chose you for a reason and that is an encouraging thought. Wand laws are not set in stone since every person’s bond with their wand is unique. It is old magic: trust its instinct”

Draco simply nodded and left the shop.

As he walked down the street towards the public floo system with his foster parents, he looked at the white wand in his hand: he could feel the magic surging through it from his arm. 

As they flooed home, Draco couldn’t help but notice how unusually quiet his foster parents were.


	8. Chapter 8

In the next few weeks Draco got more used to his new life and got more comfortable with Lily and James. He had already started working on catching up with school and found he actually enjoyed a lot reading and studying all these charms, spells and potions. His favorite subjects were Potions and Astronomy. He also enjoyed Herbology.

He also had formed a bond with his wand and found now he could easily cast spells and charms.

Overall everything was going pretty well, until one night...

He woke up screaming in his bed after a nightmare of his father beating him again.

Lily and James had come in immediately and reassured him it was all just a dream but he was too much in a panic.

“Shhhh shhhhh it’s okay” Lily said as she hugged him. He was sobbing into her shoulder.

“I-I’mm s-sorry... s-o s-sorry...” he kept in saying.

“Oh, sweetie it’s fine. You’re alright. Shhhh...”

He continued repeating apologies and whimpers for about fifteen minutes until he finally calmed down thanks to the reassuring waves his wand was sending him and to James and Lily. That had been the first nightmare he had had in a whole month and he wasn’t used to dealing with them anymore.

————————————————————————————

The next day he was feeling quite tired because of this and opted to go study in the garden. He was sitting on a picnic blanket under a tree, reading “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”. 

Suddenly he heard a sort of yelp and some high pitched crying sounds.

He looked around but didn’t hear anything. Since the cries didn’t stop, he stood up and went to check the bushes near the fence of the garden.

As he crouched down he gasped: a baby bunny was caught in some vines and was stuck. It probably was making its situation worser by moving around and getting more tangled so he quickly started calming down the baby bunny. 

He stroked its black fur, which was very soft and fluffy, until it stopped wriggling.

The rabbit was looking at him with wide blue eyes and wriggling his nose.

Vert slowly he pulled out his wand and moved so the bunny was facing towards him. Carefully he started cutting the vines that were entangled around his legs. When every single one was snipped, the baby instantly jumped forward and unintentionally ended up sitting in his lap. 

As he pet it, he noticed his fingers were covered in some drops of blood that were coming from the bunny’s back right paw and leg, which had been scratched by the vines. 

“That must be painful... let me help you” he quietly said.

He picked up the baby rabbit and carried it onto his picnic blanket so they were sitting comfortably in the shade. He placed the bunny in front of him and thought about what to do: he had to sterilize the wound and then heal it.

He summoned with a quick and simple “Accio” the bottle of Wound-Cleaning Potion James had told him they always kept in the house in case of any injuries.

He then summoned the Healing Potion he himself had made a few days prior as a Potions homework assignment.

When the two bottles flew in his hands, he set them on the picnic blanket.

First he picked up the purple colored one and uncorked it.

“This will sting a bit and produce some smoke but only for a few seconds I promise” he said to the bunny as he let fall a few drops of potion on it and immediately the potion began doing its thing. The baby rabbit squealed so Draco quickly placed the tip of his wand to its leg and muttered the correct cleaning incantation. He noticed the tip of his wand got a red streak of color that then disappeared after a second or two. The smoke stopped and the bunny calmed down again.

Good. He hated seeing animals in pain, especially adorable baby bunnies.

He then started thinking about how he could make the bunny swallow the red Healing potion, which had to be drunk for it to work.

Since only a few drops were required for such a small wound and animal, he figured he would have to get an object that resembled its mother’s breast and hopefully he would drink.

So he summoned a latex glove, filled the pinky finger with the potion and poked a tiny hole through it with his wand.

He then offered it to the bunny who thankfully latched onto it and started sucking.

When it finished its dose Draco picked it up again and started stroking its fur slowly and scratching behind his ears.

It really was cute. 

‘What do I name you?’ he thought. His first thought had been something like ‘Shadow’ or ‘Nero’ because of its completely black fur however as he watched it he decided those weren’t names that suited him.

He would come up with something better, in the meantime he could keep this bunny company until it found its mum.

“Excuse me!” a voice called. It was their neighbor who was calling him from the other side of the fence.

He got up and greeted her.

“Hi! Have you seen a black rabbit anywhere around here? I’m afraid one of my dogs accidentally killed its mum and I don’t want the poor baby alone” the elderly woman explained.

“Yes, it’s with me right now. If you want I could keep it company” he said. He didn’t mind.

“Really? Thank you, young man!” she said as she reached over the fence and patted him on the head. He gave her a small smile and returned back to sit on his picnic blanket.  
The bunny was still there, laying down on a scrunched up piece of cloth. Apparently it had tried to dig to make its bed and liked his blanket instead. It’s fluffy tail was moving with the light breeze.

Since its mother was dead what would happen to the baby? Would James and Lily let him keep it? After all, James had been the one to suggest he got a pet and a bunny counted as one... Besides, this poor baby would never survive alone in the wild and needs a home...  
He didn’t have the heart to leave him there. 

So he sat there with the bunny and thought about what to call it, unaware his foster parents had watched the whole scene.

————————————————————————————

Meanwhile Lily and James

“Ollivander was right, he does have a way with healing magic” Lily said as she and her husband watched their son heal a cute baby rabbit. 

They were standing by the ground floor window and Draco hadn’t noticed them.

“I’m so proud of him, he’s been doing magic only for a month and is still able to heal a rabbit” James said “I think he should keep it, after all, he didn’t find a pet in Diagon Alley and seems to like this one” he then added when Draco started petting the bunny.

“I agree” Lily said. Since Draco didn’t have any friends, James worked in the morning and sometimes in the evening and she had chores to do around the house, Draco sometimes didn’t have that much company during the day expect for his books. Perhaps a pet friend would do him good.

“What worries me is his ‘gift’ in Healing Magic, as Ollivander called it” James said.

Since having a gift wasn’t a common thing, they wanted to check if it was due to his traumas or to his actual powers. They knew Draco was able to heal himself the muggle way and knew which potions to take in case of an injury thanks to that monster of his father however actually being capable and good at producing that sort of spells was another thing especially at this age. 

As they watched their son cuddle with the bunny, they both decided it was best if they brought him to a magic specialist to check out his “gift”, just to be sure...


	9. Chapter 9

When Lily and James told him he could keep Snoodle (he had decided to call him a fun name because he was a very lively and friendly animal who liked to hop around everywhere) he was so happy.

They bought Snoodle a mint green cage to put in his room so he could always be with him.  
Draco and Snoodle got along very well and had lots of fun together: Draco liked to read to Snoodle, who instead liked to sit on Draco’s shoulder and listen to what he said.

Time went by and soon it was Christmas time.  
By then Draco had started tentatively calling Lily and James as “Mum” and “Dad”. He still wasn’t very comfortable with it but still his ‘parents’ urged him to do so.

Snoodle had grown a bit and now was the size of the palm of his ‘dad’s’ hand. He still was very small and weighed only 1.3 pounds (600 grams). Since it had gotten colder Draco and his furry friend spent their days inside their room, studying, and as a result Draco had eagerly finished the First Year’s Hogwarts Curriculum and was ready to move on to the Second Year one. Since it was his first Christmas, he decided he wouldn’t study as much during the Holidays but would spend more time with his ‘new’ family: his ‘dad’ would be home from work and Harry would be coming home from school.

His ‘parents’ had informed Harry of their decision to take Draco in but hadn’t explained to him the reason why Draco couldn’t stay with his birth parents since they felt Draco himself should decide what to tell Harry and what not to.

He was quite nervous actually about meeting his ‘brother’... what if he didn’t want him? What if he thought he wanted to steal his place in the family? What if he didn’t like his personality? WHAT IF HE DIDN’T LIKE SNOODLE?

Draco would die if Harry didn’t like Snoodle. How couldn’t he? He was a soft ball of black fur who hopped and followed you around everywhere!  
For Draco he was a nice alternative to throwing a ball around all day...

“Honey, are you sure you don’t want to come with us to King’s Cross?” his ‘mum’ asked him as she and his ‘dad’ prepared to go get Harry at the station as he would be returning from school that day.

“Yes. I’ll be here with Snoodle” he said as he patted his bunny’s head. Snoodle made a little sound of protest, he had been snoozing after all.

“Out of all the names you could imagine, you called him ‘Snoodle’?” James asked him: he had suggested he name his pet ‘Batman’ in honor of the shadowy muggle superhero but Draco hadn’t liked it.

“Leave it be” Lily said. She liked the name and was happy her son was creative.

James sighed and nodded as he and his wife left via apparation.  
Draco retired to his room with Snoodle.

About fifteen minutes later he heard voices in the house and took a deep breath.

This was it. He would be meeting Harry.

As he slowly went down the stairs he heard a voice he didn’t recognize say:

“I can’t wait!” 

“Ah there you are!” James said as he saw him.

Immediately his eyes fell on the black haired boy with round glasses and green eyes that was smiling at him.

“Hi I’m Harry! You must be Draco! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” he said as he walked up to him, slapped away the handshake Draco was offering him and instead hugged him tight.

Draco hesitantly hugged him back.

Lily and James smiled.

The adults shooed the two teenagers to have some fun while they prepared dinner as it was already getting late.

Harry asked to see Draco’s room so Draco showed it to him.

“Wow... it’s so... elegant” Harry gasped as he saw the “Grey Room”.

Draco bit his lip.

“Do you like it?” he asked nervously. Everything with Harry had gone well so far.

“I love it! It’s so much tidier than mine” Harry said as he sat on the bed, earning a panicked cringe from Draco. 

Harry noticed it.

“What?” he asked.

Draco furrowed his brow and pointed to the bed as a little bump formed from under the covers. Scared, Harry jumped up.

He watched as from the covers emerged a little black bunny. It’s fur was all tangled from the covers brushing it.

Draco fixed it as he pet him.

“Can I?” Harry asked.

Draco nodded and smiled a little.

The bunny’s fur was soft and smooth.

“What’s its name?” he asked.

“Snoodle” Draco said. He knew Harry wanted to ask why he chose such a particular name however he refrained from voicing out loud his question.

“He’s cute” Harry muttered and Draco internally sighed in relief.

Snoodle made a little noise and hopped over to the edge of the bed. Understanding what his pet wanted, Draco picked him up and gently set him on the floor where the bunny hopped to his cage and settled on a pillow to snooze for a bit. Last night he and Draco had stayed up a little later than usual to finish an interesting chapter on the Cure for Boils potion so now he was tired.

“Excuse him, he’s only a few months old and-”

“You don’t need to apologize!” Harry said as he got up from his bed. 

“So you like grey?” Harry asked him while looking around.

“I really like mint green... but grey is a nice color too” he said quietly.

“But it’s so... green” Harry said and readily covered his mouth with his hands.

Draco frowned.

“What’s wrong with green?” Draco asked.

“Nothing it’s just- it’s really stupid...” Harry muttered.

“Tell me anyway”

“There’s this house in school called ‘Slytherin’ that’s filled with racist gits and their colors are dark green and silver” Harry said and Draco raised an eyebrow.

“Are you a Slytherin?” Draco asked him.

“Merlin no! I’m a Gryffindor and my house colors are red and gold” he said in a horrified voice.

Well that explained his room.

“And are those the only houses in Hogwarts?” Draco asked curiously.

“There is Hufflepuff which is yellow and black and for Ravenclaw blue and bronze“ Harry explained.

“And what do these houses do?” 

“They part students into categories: Gryffindors are brave and chivalrous, Slytherins are cunning and ambitious, Ravenclaws are witty and clever and finally Hufflepuffs are kind and generous” Harry said as he looked at Draco closely.

Draco felt like an animal at the zoo under his gaze.

“You’d make an excellent Gryffindor! I can already visualize it: you in a black, red and gold uniform! Oh it’s going to be so fun in Gryffindor Tower! You’ll meet all of my friends and we can go prank Slytherins!” Harry gushed. Draco gulped and said nothing.

He didn’t feel brave and didn’t think he would enjoy pranking people. It was mean!

He didn’t say anything though and let Harry continue talking about all the things they would do in Gryffindor Tower and once they were on the Quidditch Team.

“And you can circle them- hey... where’s your broomstick?” Harry asked him as he looked around his room.

“In the broom cupboard with the rest of my Quidditch stuff” Draco said.

Harry looked at him horrified.

“IT’S NOT HERE WITH YOU?! W-WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU CONDEMN YOUR POOR BROOM TO A SAD LIFE IN A DARK, LONELY CUPBOARD WHEN YOU CAN KEEP IT HERE WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES, READY TO GO FOR A SPIN?!” Harry said (more like shouted) at him and Draco cringed. Harry definitely got this *passion* from his father.

‘Our* father’ Draco mentally corrected his wording slip up.

Draco had tried Quidditch with James but he didn’t particularly like it: everything was too dangerous and pretty boring. All you had to do was either chase/beat a ball while balancing on a flying wooden stick up in the cold (freezing) air. It didn’t sound like his ideal afternoon of fun.

So he had sat back on his broom and watched James play and have fun like an eight year old kid. In the end it had been Lily who reprimanded James because he wasn’t letting Draco play and was only showing off.

Draco didn’t mind. For him it was better this way.

Evidently he would be forced up in the air by Harry, who seemed to enjoy the sport just as much as his father. 

They talked all night, or rather, Harry talked all night while Draco quietly commented and listened. Dinner was a pleasant affair: Harry talked about his time at Hogwarts, James and Lily asked him lots of school related questions while Draco listened and only spoke when he was spoken to. He preferred to listen.

“Where did you go to school before, Draco?” Harry asked him and Draco almost choked on his steamed carrot.

“Draco studied privately, Harry” Lily saved him.

“That’s awesome! What’s your favorite subject? I’m betting either Transfiguration or Charms. I love DADA but I’m better at Charms. Don’t you-”

“Harry, son, let Draco answer you!” James said before Harry could keep on talking.

“Oh sorry” Harry gave him a sheepish look. 

“No worries... I...uhm... I like Potions and Astronomy” he said quietly.

“But they’re so boring! Snape is horrible to us Gryffindors while Sinistra is so dull”

Draco simply pursed his lips together in an awkward and uncomfortable half smile.

“Harry, Draco can like whatever subjects despite their teachers” James said.

“Of course! It’s just weird to find someone who actually likes Astronomy. Most people in Gryffindor won’t so I’ll guess you’ll be a first!” Harry said.

“What makes you think he’ll be in Gryffindor?” Lily asked him. In her opinion Draco was more of a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw based on his kindness/shyness and on his love of books.

“Because! We could have so much fun together!” Harry said.

Lily looked like she wanted to say something more but didn’t.

By the end of the night it was clear the two were going to be friends.


	10. Chapter 10

Since Draco had told him his family had never really celebrated Christmas before, Harry had insisted they do everything that was typical of the holiday and in the meantime they could get to know each other.

So Harry took him ice skating, they baked cookies with Lily, they decorated the tree together as a family, had hot chocolate with marshmallows by the fire.

Fortunately Draco’s health had improved a lot by the time Christmas had come and he had been completely healed; his eating habits however were a bit more slow going and he still couldn’t manage to have three full meals a day. He could keep down pretty much anything as long as he didn’t have too much.  
His ‘parents’ were great and never pushed him while Harry fortunately hadn’t picked up he was eating a lot less than him for the first few days. Until...

“Do you not like it?” Harry asked him.

The two of them were sitting on Draco’s bed, studying. Lily had brought them some food for lunch and had left it hovering next to them.

While Harry had polished off his plate, Draco had barely touched his food (he had already had breakfast and wasn’t hungry) and unfortunately Harry had noticed this.

‘Here goes nothing...’ he thought. He would have to tell Harry what he went through.  
Or at least, part of it.

“I wasn’t really used to eating before” he said quietly.

“What do you mean? Could your parents not afford to feed you properly?”

“On the contrary they could feed me just fine, they just chose... not to.” Draco didn’t want to say too much. He knew Harry wouldn’t go around gossiping to anyone about what he was telling him, however he didn’t want to be pitied either by his friend. Harry was rather protective and had already told him to inform him if anyone was rude to him at school so he would take care of them. As if he was going to take up on that offer...

Harry stared at him and furrowed his brows.

“Yeah... as a result I... I can’t eat that much” he said as he looked to his feet.

“That’s horrible” Harry whispered.

A pregnant silence fell between the two of them.

“What else did they do to you?” Harry asked Draco quietly.

Even though they hadn’t known each other for long Harry already liked Draco a lot.

Draco moved his lips but no sound came out.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to” 

“They... theymademedochoresandbeatme...” Draco quickly said as he blushed red in embarrassment.

Harry had managed to understand what he had said and looked at him sadly.

“So what happened to them?” 

“They’re in Azkaban...” Draco said.

Silence fell over the room again.

“We can talk about this another time. When you’re ready. In the meantime, don’t worry: I won’t tell anyone” Harry said as he hugged Draco.

Draco nodded but didn’t say anything. He was grateful Harry hadn’t pushed him for an explanation. He really was a good friend. His first friend, in fact; well, except for Snoodle.

It was hard to speak of what his parents did to him and he generally preferred to avoid this type of conversations.

Harry tried to lighten up the mood.

“So, where were we?” he said as he pointed to their homework.

“Chapter fifteen, third paragraph” Draco said quietly as he turned his head back to his book.

The two boys continued studying in silence for a few more hours.

————————————————————————————

The next day was a very eventful one: Harry woke Draco up in the early hours of the morning with a snowball to the face.

Evidently it had started snowing sometime during the night and lots of snow had fallen.  
Why Harry was awake at 4 AM was a mystery, however at the moment he was too preoccupied with drying his face and hair.

He hadn’t appreciated the prank. Not. One. Bit. 

Harry, after realizing Draco wasn’t pleased with him for his little stunt, apologized to him.

“It’s fine” Draco said curtly, not even glancing at him as he magically dried his pajamas in the bathroom.

As Draco left the bathroom Harry stopped him.

“Wait! Where are you going?” he asked Draco.

“To bed. It’s too early to be up” he said with a yawn. He wasn’t even cross anymore, he was just tired and wanted to sleep.

As Draco closed the door behind him, Harry sighed, walked down to the living room and flung himself on the sofa.

He had been hoping Draco would enjoy the prank and join him for a snowball battle outside.

Instead he would have to wait hours until the blond woke up.

To be fair it was a bit early but he had expected the snow would wake him up enough...

He laid on the sofa for about two hours keeping himself occupied with various activities until he heard some footsteps on the stairs. 

“What are you doing up this early?” his mother asked him in astonishment as she knelt before him. He wasn’t really an early riser.

“Well, I asked Draco if he wanted to play in the snow with me but he went back to sleep...” he said with a small pout.

“Hmm... how and when did you ask him?” his mother asked. She really did know him too well.

“Well, I threw a snowball at him while he slept about two hours ago” he answered.

Lily raised her eyebrows.

“And you expect him to go outside in the freezing weather at 4.30 AM after you woke him up with cold snow?” she asked him. Rhetorically, of course.

“Ron, Seamus and Dean enjoy it...” he said. He truly didn’t understand why Draco didn’t appreciate his little joke.

“Draco isn’t like your friends, Harry. He’s reserved and kind and doesn’t enjoy pranks the way you do. I don’t know what he’s told you but he didn’t exactly have a happy childhood-” Lily explained to him but was cut off by Harry.

“I know” he said.

“So why would you think he’d enjoy getting smacked in the face with some snow at four in the morning?” she asked him gently.

“I thought he would have fun...” he said as he bowed his head. He suddenly felt ashamed.

“Honey, you have to understand: Draco is nothing like your friends or you. His family wasn’t loving and he certainly didn’t have the childhood he deserved” she said as she caressed his cheeks and smiled sadly at him.

“But I only wanted to have some fun...” he said quietly.

“I know, sweetheart, but pranking him isn’t the way. For example he enjoyed himself when you two were playing chess by the fire. Try doing something you think he would actually enjoy and not something you and your friends are used to doing” she suggested. Harry instantly had a great idea.

“We could play Quidditch! Or I could show him all the ways you can polish your broomstick! Oh! Maybe we can do some tricks in the air!” Harry gushed as he planned all the possible activities. Lily simply shook her head.

“Harry. Have you ever wondered why Draco doesn’t keep his broom in his room like you and your father do? Why he prefers to watch you do tricks while he only sits on his broom? Why he doesn’t seem as eager as you to play Quidditch? Not everyone enjoys flying, sweetie, and the only thing you can do is accept that” she said. 

His first thought was ‘But it’s Quidditch!’ but the more he thought about it the more everything made sense: he had simply assumed Draco was embarrassed because he didn’t know how to fly as well on a broomstick but now he knew the true reason his friend didn’t like to be up in the air.

“Oh... I hadn’t thought about that” he said.

Truthfully he was a little bit disappointed Draco didn’t like Quidditch but he knew he would soon get over it. Instead he thought about something they could do that Draco would enjoy. Suddenly an amazing idea popped in his head.

“I’ve got it! Thanks mum!l he said as he raced upstairs leaving a smiling Lily behind him.

‘Oh that boy’ she thought fondly as she went to the kitchen and filled up her magical watering can and started watering the various plants around the house.

In the meantime Harry quietly opened Draco’s door and tiptoed into his room.

There on the bed lay a sleeping Draco. He looked so peaceful...  
Snoodle, who was sleeping as well, was cuddled against his neck and pillow; the pair looked adorable together. Harry kinda envied Draco for having such a cute pet.

Shaking those thoughts away he went to Draco’s wardrobe, opened it as quietly as possible and took a quick glance around. Nodding in approval he closed the wardrobe and exited Draco’s room.

Harry simply couldn’t wait until Draco woke up: this was going to be the best activity ever.


	11. Chapter 11

As Draco woke up he quickly became aware of the soft warm body against his neck and shoulder.

“Good morning, Snoodle” he said as he pet him on the head and the bunny raised his ears in response. Chuckling quietly he became aware of the smell of food coming from downstairs.

He cast a quick ‘Tempus’ which revealed it was nearly nine o’clock so he began preparing Snoodle’s breakfast which consisted in grass hay, rabbit pellets and some cut vegetables.   
He cut for himself a little carrot stick and ate it.

He left Snoodle to his meal and descended to see if anyone was awake.  
He found Harry in the kitchen.

“Morning” he said and watched as Harry jumped in shock.

“Draco! I didn’t hear you come down!” he said as he set a plate in front of him on the table. 

“Sorry” he said as he examined the plate. It had some sort of disks on it covered in a brownish liquid.

“What is this?” he asked.

“An apology. For waking you up in that manner earlier” Harry said as he placed a plate in front of himself and started eating. He really seemed to enjoy this food.

“It’s fine. But seriously: what are these” he said as he speared a soft disk with his plate and cut out a tiny piece.

“You don’t know what pancakes are?” Harry asked him with wide eyes.

Draco shook his head.

“These are called ‘pancakes’; they’re really good especially when covered in maple syrup or soft butter” Harry said.

Draco started bringing his fork to his mouth but stopped.

“Did you make these yourself?” 

“No, mum helped me” Harry said.

Draco nodded and bit the piece off of his fork. He trusted Lily’s cooking more than Harry’s.

“So?” Harry asked him.

Draco swallowed and said : “They’re very good”. Harry smiled widely at him.

As they finished their breakfast Harry immediately dragged Draco upstairs. There still was no sign of either Lily or James.

“Go change into something warm. I’m afraid it’s quite cold outside today” he said.

Draco pressed his lips in a thin line and nodded.

As he descended his stairs dressed in his winter clothing, he found Harry, Lily and James were dressed for the cold weather as well.

“Where are we going?” he asked them.

“It’s a surprise!” Harry said.

“Come on boys, let’s go!” James said, sounding exited just as much as Harry.

Lily sighed and walked over to Draco and took his hand while James took Harry’s.

A second later they were standing in the slightly crowded apparation points in Diagon Alley.

“We’re going to go present shopping!” Harry said.

“Now boys. Since presents are supposed to be secret we’re going to allow you some time alone but don’t go wondering by yourselves and be careful out there” Lily said and James nodded in agreement.

Both Harry and Draco promised they would be back at this apparation point in exactly two hours. As the four divided into two couples Harry immediately asked Draco where he wanted to go.

“Uhm...I don’t know...” he said.

“Oh come on! Anywhere!” Harry said.

“How about... uhm...Quality Quidditch Supplies?” he said timidly, knowing Harry would want to go there sooner or later.  
Harry nodded and the boys started walking in that direction.

In the shop they separated so Draco didn’t know if/what Harry had bought.   
Draco got for James one of the latest models of broom servicing kits which included a shiny wood polish that apparently did something incredible to your broom.

The next shop they went to was Rosa Lee Teabag (a tea shop) where Draco bought some of Lily and James’ favorite Christmas tea flavor which only came out at Christmas.

Next was Madam Primpernelle’s Beautifying Potions where Draco bought a bottle of perfume he knew Lily would like.

They also went to Slug & Jiggers Apothecary and Sugarplum’s Sweets Shop although he didn’t get anything except for a Blood-flavored Lollipop. Harry said he was nutters for liking those but Draco didn’t listen to him.

Then they went to Magical Menagerie and he got some new owl treats for Harry’s owl, Hedwig, to try out and got a bag of Snoodle’s favorite treats: soft dried apple slices. 

Now the only person who remained was Harry. He still hadn’t thought about what to give to him. Quidditch supplies first came to mind but he didn’t think it was an original and thoughtful gift. An idea finally came to mind but he had to be quick: they only had twenty minutes until they had to go back.  
He asked if they could visit the potions shop again and Harry fortunately agreed so they quickly walked there.   
Inside Draco purchased the potion he was looking for.

On the way back the two basically had to run to the apparation point where Lily and James were already waiting for them.

As they got home the four separated again and went up to their rooms to wrap the presents.

When they were finished they placed them all under the tree. Let’s just say you could tell who had wrapped what. Draco’s presents were neat while Harry’s were a bit of a mess to be honest: the wrapping paper was all wrinkled and the bows were completely crooked and out of proportions. 

To Draco however it didn’t matter: this was his first Christmas ever after all.

The family settled on the sofa by the fire with mugs of hot chocolate and enjoyed a very pleasant evening together.


	12. Chapter 12

Soon it was Christmas morning and Harry woke Draco and Snoodle up by jumping on their bed and yelling “Wake up! It’s Christmas!” and then running out of the room.

Draco yawned and stretched and went down the stairs in his pajamas with Snoodle in his arms.

In the living room he found Lily and James looking barely awake and an excited Harry who was petting Hedwig, who on the other hand was staring at Snoodle with a hungry glint in her eyes. Draco wrapped his arms around his baby bunny a little tighter.

Soon they started opening the presents and Draco enjoyed the scene of James bouncing in joy in his seat when he saw what Draco had gotten him.

Lily also enjoyed the perfume and immediately expressed her like of the delicate scent.

Draco’s gift left Harry speechless.

“Basically you coat your glasses once a month with these two potions and they will always be clean, un-foggy and won’t break or get scratch marks” he explained.

Harry smiled widely at him and got up to hug him.

“Thank you! This is great! Finally I won’t have to ask Hermione anymore to repair my glasses!” Harry said as he very slowly and gently placed his gift with his other gifts.

Draco also liked his gifts, especially what Harry had gotten him: a set of rare potion ingredients.

As he went back to his room he stored his new ingredients in the potion cupboard and put away his other gifts except for the book Lily had gotten him, “Dracula”, which he placed on his nightstand. He would start reading it with Snoodle later that evening.

Since he didn’t have much to do now, he sat on his bed with Snoodle and played with him for a bit. He made little bursts of light and color with his wand as his pet watched and moved his head along with his wand/hand movements. 

They kept on playing together until there was a knock on the door. It was Harry.

“Do you want to go ice skating?” he asked him.

“Sure!” he said.

Twenty minutes later the family was enjoying herself on the skating rink. 

———————————————————————————

Unfortunately nothing lasted for eternity and soon it was time for Harry to return to Hogwarts.

Draco refused to see him off at the station and instead chose to say his goodbyes at home.  
As the two hugged Harry said in his ear:

“I’ll miss you”

Draco knew that was true for both of them. 

He watched with a sad smile as Harry, Lily and James apparated away to the train station, leaving the house unusually quiet.

————————————————————————————

Life without Harry was a bit more dull however he managed to keep himself occupied with his studies. If he kept on with his current schedule he knew that by Easter he would have finished the Second Year’s Hogwarts Curriculum. That would leave him some months for him to start getting ahead with the Third Year’s one.  
No matter what he wanted to be completely prepared when he went to school.

It was in the first week of January when his schedule was interrupted.

James said that today they would be going to a Magic Specialist about his Healing “Gift”. He understood where his parent’s worries were coming from: he too had wondered whether this gift was good for him or not.

He sat nervously in front of Healer Kum’s desk.

The man was inspecting him with his thick glasses and humming to himself in thought.

“Stand up, please” he said and Draco did as he was told.

James was in the corner of the room and was looking anxious. Lily hadn’t accompanied them because she wasn’t feeling very well this morning and had a bit of an upset stomach.

“You can sit back down“ the healer said to him.

“Mr. Potter, your son suffered a very rare magic outbreak from his magical core. This type of affliction isn’t maligne and won’t harm the boy himself or anyone else. Rather I’d say this ‘gift’, as you’ve called it, could result rather useful should he or anyone around him be injured” Healer Kum explained.

”What caused this outbreak?” James asked the man.

“There are only two causes: physical and mental exhaustion. The second one is much rarer and only occurs in determined circumstances” the healer finished the sentence grimly.

“What is it?” James asked.

“When one has seriously wished themselves dead for a long period of time...” the healer said. 

‘Oh God! If only he knew...’ James thought as he looked at Draco.

The blond was looking at the floor.

“You shouldn’t worry, however. He was quite lucky given the circumstances: usually this outbreak ends up being fatal when violent magic is involved. Fortunately for the boy healing magic isn’t as draining as combative magic is and he most likely won’t even notice he’s different from anyone else until he actually heals someone. His wand also helped a lot with managing his new powers” the healer said.

As they thanked him the healer made Draco promise he would tell his parents should he ever experience symptoms of exhaustion and lethargy. Draco promised.

As they left the hospital neither of them spoke until they were home. Draco knew that James knew the real reason why he had this ‘gift’ and he dreaded explaining to his father exactly how and why he had wished he were dead every night for years before he was adopted.  
He suspected James already knew that as well.

That night he went to bed a little earlier than usual and cuddled tightly Snoodle, who was very good at comforting him.


	13. Chapter 13

Another visit with Healer Kum eased his worries a bit: his powers were permanent and definitely wouldn’t harm anyone. He was relieved.

As he went on with his studies he noticed he did find it a bit easier to master healing spells rather than others. He hadn’t given that a lot of thought before because he knew his wand was apt to healing magic but now he knew it also came from him.

Soon it was Easter and he was feeling rather excited for two main reasons: he would be seeing Harry again and he had finished the Second Year’s Curriculum so they had time to do things together.

Since he didn’t know the list of books he would be needing next year at school he and Lily had gone out and bought a few books they found helpful.  
Lily and James were really proud of their son and couldn’t wait to see which house he would be in. James was hoping Gryffindor but Lily thought Draco was better suited for Ravenclaw or maybe Hufflepuff.  
Either way he definitely liked to read.  
That was certain.

The Easter holidays seemed to fly by as Harry and Draco caught up and had fun together.  
Draco told Harry about all his studying and his visits to Healer Kum while Harry told Draco about Hogwarts and his friends.

The two remaining months of school also passed quickly for Draco, who was getting rather excited to go to Hogwarts. He couldn’t wait until September.

During the summer Harry and Draco spent almost every day together and by September they felt like they had known each other all their lives.

When the time came he had to leave for Hogwarts he couldn’t help but feel nervous. He and his family had went to Diagon Alley two weeks before and had acquired all of his and Harry’s school requirements.

He had already started to read some of the books they would be using in Third Year and to be fair he was quite impressed: they were clear and didn’t cut short on information about spells/potions.

He collected his trunk and Snoodle’s cage and went downstairs where his parents were waiting to accompany them to the train station.

“Harry! Hurry or you’ll miss the train!” James said as he took Draco’s trunk. He knew his son was still very thin and didn’t have much muscle to keep that heavy trunk up by himself so he helped him. Even after one year Draco still had trouble with eating...

A minute later Harry ran down the stairs with his coat half fastened and his hair wilder than usual. He was carrying his trunk and Hedwig’s cage in his hands and with his teeth his glasses.

Lily shook her head and fixed him up until he was presentable. After all, Harry was the most disorganized one between the two of them.

As they apparated to the station Draco looked around with curious eyes: a black and red train was steaming on the rail while lots of people saw off their children with hugs and kisses and in some cases even tears.

As his father handed him his trunk he realized this was it. This would be the moment he would be alone in the world with only one person who knew him (without counting Snoodle).

Lily expressed how proud she was of the both of them as she hugged them while James only patted them on the back.

As they boarded the train they soon found an empty compartment and settled in it.

As Draco let Snoodle out of his cage the rabbit immediately climbed up to sit on his shoulder as he pulled out one of his books and started reading it.

“My friends should be joining us in a few minutes” Harry said.

Draco looked up from his page and nodded.

He resumed his reading with Snoodle on his shoulder until a knock sounded on the compartment’s door and an explosion of noise filled the air.

A red head boy, two brunette boys and two brunette girls burst in the room.

The three boys were laughing together while the girls walked behind them.

“Mate!” one of the brunette boys said (shouted*) and went to hug Harry.

“Hi guys!” Harry said just as loud. Draco cringed a bit.

“This is Draco” he said.

Everyone turned to look at him and suddenly he felt very shy. He smiled tentatively.

“Hello” he said.

“Nice to meet ya, Draco! I’m Ron!” the red-head said.

“I’m Dean!” 

“And I’m Seamus”

“I’m Hermione Granger” 

“I’m Lavender” the girl batted her eyelashes at him and smiled.

‘I’ll never remember all of that...’ he thought as everyone sat down and Lavender (?) took the seat beside him and scooted over too close to him for comfort.

“And who’s this little fella?” Lavender asked as she pointed to his shoulder.

“This is my bunny: Snoodle” he said.

Snoodle raised his ears when he heard Draco say his name.

“He’s so cute!” Hermione said as she pet him. 

“I have a pet myself you know” she said.

Draco gave her a blank look.  
Hermione raised her eyebrows and smiled.

He turned his head toward Lavender to ask her about Hermione’s pet but she was giving him a shocked look.

“Harry didn’t tell you anything about me-us?” she corrected herself.

He shook his head no.

“He only told me a few things you did together...” he said quietly.

“Harry!?” Lavender said.

Harry shrugged.

As Harry and his friends started to talk Draco went back to his book as Snoodle snoozed on his shoulder.

“What are you reading?” Lavender said as she glanced over his shoulder and covered with her hair his bunny. He heard Snoodle make a little sound of protest so he gently brushed her hair away from his shoulder and transferred his pet to his left shoulder (this way he could also look out of the window).

“Dracula” he said.

“Isn’t that a Muggle book?” The red-head boy asked him.

“Uhm... I think so?” he said. He hadn’t been the one who chose it so he didn’t know. Anyway, he didn’t see how it really mattered.

“Ron, leave it” Harry said. Leave what?

Ron nodded.

“So, what house do you think you’ll be in, Draco?” Sean/Seamus (?) asked him.

“Anyone will do” he replied quietly. It really didn’t matter since all houses seemed good enough for him.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be in Slytherin” Ron muttered.

“Why? What’s wrong with being a Slytherin?” he asked. Harry had briefly hinted about his dislike for the house before but hadn’t really explained why. He knew about some people in that house being rude but that didn’t really mean anything did it? In his opinion bad people could come from anywhere... 

“Because they’re Slytherins!” Ron exclaimed. Again with ‘being Slytherins’... was that supposed to enlighten him?

Draco gave him a blank look.

“What Ron means is that Slytherins are bullies and racists” Hermione explained when she saw the expression on Draco’s face.

“All of them?” he asked.

“Well not all of them but some” Hermione said.

“Like Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle...” Ron said.

“And are those the only people in Slytherin?” he asked purposely.

“Of course not! There are a lot more students than that!” Ron said.

“Then why are you judging all of them based on only three people?” he said again.

Ron opened his mouth but no words came out.  
Draco raised a single blond eyebrow as the other boy sat there gaping like a fish.

“Well played, Draco” Lavender said as she smiled at him again and ran her hand down his arm. Draco awkwardly shifted some more towards the window and away from her. Why was she this close?

“I suppose they’re not all bad... but mark my words you’ll agree with me about Theodore Nott being the Devil reincarnated on earth” Ron said as he settled in his seat and started talking to... one of the brunette boys.

At that point Draco promised himself he would make an effort to learn all of their names.

Since he’d never had a friend before Harry he didn’t know how to behave and act in front of them so he opted for sitting back and proceeding with his reading. Harry’s friends evidently had something else in mind.

“Where did you go to school before, Draco?” Hermione asked him.

“I studied privately” he answered without hesitation. This was what his parents had told him and Harry to say should anyone ask them about Draco’s education prior to Hogwarts.

“That must have been so awesome!” Dean (?) exclaimed as he asked him to tell him more.  
Draco internally sighed.

“Well basically I set my own timing and studied-” he was cut off.

“YOU SET YOUR OWN TIMING!?” Ron basically shouted in shock and Draco immediately closed his eyes. Shouting reminded him of his father...

“That’s so unfair! I would have finished everything at a slower pace if I had the chance!” Ron then added in a somewhat lower voice.

“Are you sure you’re on the same level as everyone?” Hermione asked him with suspicion.

“Hermione, Draco here is just as much as a bookworm as you, if not more: he’s already started studying this year’s books. I’d say he’s more advanced than all of us here” Harry boasted and Draco inwardly winced when he saw Hermione’s right eye twitch in annoyance. 

“I wouldn’t say that...” he muttered.

“Look he’s even humble too!” Harry said in a loud voice as he patted Draco’s knee. His plan to remain invisible had officially failed thanks to this group of teenagers. He sighed.

“Uhm... look I-I’m not really- I don’t... uhm” he said quietly. He didn’t want people to get the wrong impression.

“It’s okay, mate. We get it” one of the brunette boys said. 

The rest of the ride was mainly Harry’s friends interrogating Draco and Draco doing his best to answer as honestly as possible.

His book had been discarded as his new friends kept on distracting him with their questions. 

They put on their robes as the train arrived in Hogsmeade.

The group was walking down the platform when a huge man came up to them.

“Hi Hagrid!” Harry said.

“Hiya Harry!” the huge man said in a weird accent 

“Draco, this is Hagrid. He is the gamekeeper and the Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts” Harry introduced him.

“Draco? Are you Draco Malfoy?” Hagrid asked and he nodded in response.

“Good! Then you can follow me! I’ll be taking ya up to Hogwarts as you’ve not been sorted yet” Hagrid said. 

“Okay” he said as he turned and said goodbye to his friends.

“We’ll see you later at the Gryffindor table!” Harry said.

Hagrid spent the whole ride up to Hogwarts in some sort of carriage informing him of how great it was to have a new student and of how much fun he would have here.

“And you even have a pet!” Hagrid had said once he’d seen Snoodle’s little body sleeping in his cage.

He’s never met a stranger that was so jovial.

Overall it was a pretty pleasant ride.

Hagrid left him in front of the main gates where another woman was waiting for him.

“Hello, Mr. Malfoy” this woman said as she gave him a small smile.

“Good morning, Ma’am” he’d answered. He’d not been told how to properly address teachers (he suspected this lady was one).

“‘Professor’ will do, Mr. Malfoy. I am Minerva McGonagall and I teach Transfiguration here at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am also Gryffindor’s Head of House. Please, follow me” she said as she hurriedly went up some sets of stairs.

“Now, because you are a transfer student you will be sorted along with the First Years” Professor McGonagall said as they came to a stop in front of two large double doors. 

He took a deep breath as she pushed them open and he took in the sight of the Great Hall for the first time.


	14. Chapter 14

It was huge.  
The ceiling was lit with hundreds of floating candles and it was spelled to look like a night sky full of stars.  
There were four long tables in the room and each was filled with students of different ages.  
The noise stopped as he and Professor McGonagall entered. He could feel eyes looking at him from everywhere.

“An announcement: this year a new student joins us and as such he will be sorted with the First Years however he will take classes as a Third Year” a man he assumed was the Headmaster informed all the students.

As the sorting ceremony started he stood there nervously.  
Hagrid had already informed him he would be going last as he was older so he waited for his name to be called as the group of First Years grew smaller and smaller.

Finally Professor McGonagall called his name as he was left there standing alone.

“Draco Malfoy” the cheers for the previous student immediately died down as he sat on the stool and the professor placed the Sorting Hat on his head.

“Mhhh... interesting...” the Hat said.

‘What’s interesting?’ he thought.

“You are the first student who has no interest about which house he is in” the Hat mused. His mind hadn’t yet registered the Hat had answered his thoughts.

“In you there’s a kind heart, something very rare considering everything you’ve been through, but I also see curiosity and ambition. You wish to prove yourself but don’t conform with other’s believes” the Hat described.

“You would do very well in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw but also in Slytherin if your ambition outweighed your kindness” it continued.

Draco closed his eyes. He wondered what his life would be like in every house.

“In Hufflepuff you could show kindness to people and your studies and hard work would pay off. In Ravenclaw your intelligence would thrive and you could demonstrate your wit. In Slytherin you may find yourself a bit more different than others but with those sly and cunning folk your ambition to prove yourself and your manipulation skills would be at their very best” the Hat said.

‘Manipulation skills?’ he thought.

“Oh yes dear boy, you are quite manipulative and haven’t even realized yet. Don’t worry: you will over time” the Hat said.

Draco blinked. What about Gryffindor?

“You wouldn’t truly be happy with the Lions. You aren’t as rash and hotheaded as them and you would stop and think about something before you do it. In my opinion you belong either with the Snakes or the Ravens” 

Draco sighed.

It didn’t matter what house he ended up in. He just wished to be happy and not to be like his father.

“Then it’s decided” the Hat said and then shouted:

“RAVENCLAW!”

Cheers erupted from the Ravenclaw table as he got up and walked towards it. He sat down beside some boys who looked like they were his age.

“Congratulations!”

“Welcome to Ravenclaw!” 

Many people congratulated him as the welcoming feast commenced.

The scent of food filled the air and for the first time ever he actually felt like he could finish a whole meal (something he hadn’t managed to do yet even almost a year after he was adopted and his diet drastically changed).

“Sooo what did the Hat say to you?” one of the boys asked.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you hear it talk?” he asked.

“No. You just sat there in total silence for a minute until the Hat sorted you. So, what did it say to you?” 

“Oh, uhm... nothing... it just said I would do well here in Ravenclaw” 

He looked at the other boys around him.

“Where are our manners!? I’m Anthony!” one of them said as he held out his hand for Draco to shake.

“I’m Michael, pleased to meet you!”

“I’m Terry” the boys introduced themselves.

“I’m Draco” he said in a low voice.

“Ah you’re a quiet one ay? Well it’s a good thing you weren’t placed with the Gryffindors because for them meals are like wars: you never know when you’re about to be hit by a flying piece of food until it’s hit you. Look for yourself” Michael said. He turned around to face the Gryffindor table and indeed he did see a lot of food flying around.

“What a waste...” he muttered. His eyes scanned the table for his friends and found them talking and laughing together.

He turned back to his new friends.

“So, have you met anyone here?” Terry asked him as he smeared a piece of meat with gravy.

“I met Harry, Ron, Lavender, Hermione and... uhm...” he couldn’t recall the names of the two brunettes.

“Dean and Seamus” Terry finished for him in a cold voice as Draco nodded.

“How were they?” Michael asked him with no expression on his face.

“They were... loud. Pretty loud but fine I guess” he said.

“Then you’re lucky because they usually play pranks on us” Anthony informed him. 

“Oh...” he simply said.

“You can say that again” Terry muttered.

“Maybe I can speak to them and ask them to stop...?” Draco said in a hopeful voice.

“Why would they listen to you?” 

“Because they’re Gryffindors: if one points out to them how un-noble an action they commit truly is then they will immediately cease to do it. Their pride will be their downfall” he said as the Sorting Hat’s words popped up in his head again: ‘Manipulation skills”. 

“Even if you tried they wouldn’t listen. They never listen to us anyway” Anthony said “we appreciate your offer though”

Draco sighed and nodded.

The meal continued happily as the four boys chatted and got to know each other.


	15. Chapter 15

Overall he liked it in Ravenclaw.  
People were nice to him and even the teachers liked him (after all, he was a good student): his head of house, Professor Flitwick, was a good man and had thoroughly explained all the rules and activities here at Hogwarts.  
His new friends also were very much fun and he liked them a lot as well.  
He had even managed to convince his Gryffindor friends to stop playing pranks on others.  
Now.  
There was only one problem: Theodore Nott.

Nott had introduced himself during his second day at Hogwarts (and by ‘introduced’ he meant shoved him against a wall and told him exactly who was ‘the boss’ there). Draco who wasn’t physically strong could do nothing except for stay silent. He had suffered much worser things than this during his childhood: he could take a little bullying.

Staying silent however meant unwillingly giving Nott ‘permission’ to bully him as much as he wanted.  
It began with casual shoves and tripping jinxes. Then started the knocking books out of his hands and shoving him harder against walls and making him fall.  
All of these actions were of course accompanied by a string of taunts and insults.

Draco never let them get to him, simply got up and continued his way.

Nott, of course, was careful and made sure he and his two goons, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, were never bullying him out in public and waited until he was alone.

He postponed telling his friends as much as he could until one day, about two months after the bullying had began, Lavender noticed a nasty bruise on his upper arm.  
And so Draco was forced to inform his friends both in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw about Nott, Crabbe and Goyle.  
However he did make them swear on their Gryffindor honor they wouldn’t try to do anything because it would only make it worser for him.  
Harry was a bit more difficult to convince because as soon as he found out what Nott was doing he wanted to go and curse the git.  
He was quite protective and everyday he would ask Draco how he was feeling and if Nott had done something to him.  
Draco lied and said ‘nothing’ most of the time because he didn’t want Harry to get into trouble for cursing Nott, like Draco knew he would do.

Today was no different from any other.

As he had just finished Potions his next destination was DADA. He was walking down the corridor that led away from the Dungeons when someone cast on him from behind a Jelly-Legs Curse. As he fell to the floor he heard someone laughing.

“You never cease to amuse me, Malfoy” Nott said cruelly as he opened Draco’s satchel and turned it over, spilling all of its contents on the floor. Draco winced when he heard his inkwell shatter and cover everything in black ink.

“Oops...” Nott laughed “Will you look at that boys? Finally Malfoy is where he belongs: on the floor beneath my feet” Nott then added when he saw Draco couldn’t get up because of his jinxed legs.

Draco looked sadly at his ruined satchel’s contents. He would have to re-do all of his homework and buy new stationary and books... he sighed.

Just as Crabbe was about to punch him a deep and familiar voice sounded in the corridor.

“Perhaps you should do well to remember, Mr. Nott, Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, that you are members of Slytherin house and as such you will conduct yourself accordingly” Draco turned his head and saw Professor Snape emerge from the shadows of the Dungeons; Nott and his two dogs immediately stopped laughing and paled at the sight of the intimidating teacher.

“I will not tolerate bullying. If you wish to behave like a group of eight year olds then you can go do that at another school. If I ever see or even hear about you bullying another student you can kiss your positions in Slytherin AND Hogwarts goodbye. Am I clear?” Professor Snape threatened.

“Yes, Sir” the three Slytherins said in unison.

“Am. I. Clear?” Professor Snape asked again to make a point.

“Yes, Sir” Nott’s voice trembled.

“Twenty points from Slytherin EACH for bullying. Consider yourselves lucky: this is my first and only warning. Now get out of my sight” Professor Snape hissed.

Immediately Nott and his two dancing monkeys basically ran away with their tails between their legs.

Professor Snape sighed and looked at Draco, who was still laying on the floor.

He took out his wand and cast the counter-curse for the Jelly-Legs Jinx.

Snape then crouched down and muttered an incantation. Draco watched in awe as the ink parted from his belongings and the glass inkwell repaired itself: soon his satchel and its contents were clean once more.

Professor Snape held out his book bag to him and Draco hesitantly took it.

“Thank you, Sir” he said quietly. He was feeling quite shy after seeing the teacher get so mad. He couldn’t even imagine how terrifying it would be to be on the receiving end of one of those sharp glares.

“I suggest you be more careful in the future, Mr. Malfoy” Professor Snape said as he turned around and, with a swish of his dramatic and flowy black cloak, started walking away.

Draco was left standing there. Alone.

————————————————————————————

He told his friends about what happened.

“He actually took points from Slytherin?” Ron asked him. He nodded.

“But Snape never does that!” Ron complained.

“What does he mean?” he asked. 

“Snape favors his own house rather than others and this is the first time he punishes his own for the sake of a student who isn’t a Snake. Do you think it means something?” Lavender explained. 

Draco shrugged.

“Maybe he was just tired of giving people detention?” he said. It was a pitiful excuse but it seemed to work with the Gryffindors.

“Probably” Dean said as they changed the subject.

Draco, although, wouldn’t let this drop so lightly.


	16. Chapter 16

Draco had tried to find out why Professor Snape helped him but hadn’t found anything useful. The man was pretty secretive and intimidating. The latter proved to be a very helpful trait because Nott, Crabbe and Goyle had stopped bullying him.

The only good thing he had come out with from his investigations was a new friend: Cedric Diggory, an older Hufflepuff boy.

Draco had been lost (he couldn’t remember which corridors he had to follow to go back to the main wing of the castle) when Cedric found him and helped him get back to Ravenclaw Tower.

As they were walking they had talked and joked together until a tentative friendship was formed.  
They would acknowledge each other when they met in the corridors and they even arranged to have a weekly study session so that they could study together and help each other if needed. Draco was pleased he could keep up with the Fifth Year’s Program as he was only a Third Year.

He liked Cedric: he was nice and smart and knew how to uphold an intelligent conversation. Another plus to his name was that he adored Snoodle and always asked Draco if he could bring him to their study sessions. He of course agreed and that led to Cedric bringing Snoodle treats.

Overall he really liked his new friend.  
He had told his Gryffindor and Ravenclaw friends about him and they hadn’t disapproved of him meeting other people.

It just so happened that one evening as he was walking to his study session with Cedric he overheard his name being said in what seemed to be a private conversation.

As he stopped he turned and saw a door that led to an empty classroom was ajar and a small stream of light was peeking through it.

He very quietly stepped closer and listened to the conversation that he recognized was between Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape.

“You care for the boy” Headmaster Dumbledore said. It was a statement, not a question.

“Of course I care! He’s the closest thing to a son I’ll ever have” Professor Snape said.

A small silence followed as the Potions Professor started speaking again.

“His parents cut off all contacts with me just after Draco’s birth. They wouldn’t let me see him at all. If I’d known back then what was going on behind the Manor’s closed doors I would have done everything possible to get that poor and innocent boy away from those monsters”

“Why ‘monsters’, Severus?” Headmaster Dumbledore asked.

“They abused him in every possible way minus sexually. A child shouldn’t have to go through that... Lily contacted me a few months after they took him in (she knows I’m Draco’s godfather) and confided in me. She asked if I wanted to meet him but I couldn’t bring myself to say yes... I should have been there for this little sweet boy and yet I left him alone with those beasts simply because I was too stupid to see what was right in front of my own two eyes” 

Draco wanted to gasp but managed to contain himself. Professor Snape was his... godfather? 

“Well, he’s beaten the odds: he’s a good child in spite of everything he’s been through. I take it you’ve been looking out for him?” Professor Dumbledore asked.

“Yes. Theodore Nott and his two goons will think twice before deciding they want to hurt my godson” Professor Snape said darkly.

“Yes... It was very nice of you, Severus: being bullied at school after being abused all your life at home isn’t the best of situations. To be fair he does take it all in his stride” Headmaster Dumbledore mused.

“But he shouldn’t have to! That’s the point, Albus. He should have had a happy childhood with loving parents and friends. Instead he was all alone in a small room for years, barely fed and beaten regularly by his own father” Professor Snape said in anger.

Silence followed.  
Professor Snape sighed.

“When Lily told me I could have murdered Lucius and Narcissa with my bare hands” 

“I imagine it was hard to come to therms with. I’ve been watching the boy: he seems happy here and I’m glad. He’s also a very good student; I’ve noticed he enjoys Potions quite a lot” Headmaster Dumbledore said.

“I like him and I’m proud of him: being this brave and good and kind. If I could I would go back and take him away, raise him myself...” Draco wondered how different his life would have been if Professor Snape had raised him. He wouldn’t have suffered as much, that’s for sure.

“Alas you can only hope to be there for him in the future” Headmaster Dumbledore said.

“I certainly will and I know Lily will keep me informed”

“Good” 

Draco heard some footsteps approaching the door so he quickly hid behind a suit of armor and listened as the conversation changed to school matters.

His mind hadn’t processed yet what he’d just heard so he didn’t really know how he felt about Professor Snape being his godfather.

The Potions master had treated him well enough but was still horrible to Gryffindors.  
At least now Draco knew why he had helped him.

He didn’t tell anyone what he had discovered.


	17. Chapter 17

As the year progressed Draco got closer to his friends (including Cedric) and got to know them well.

He also started noticing various little actions Professor Snape regraded him with: he checked his work three times when they were brewing a potion instead of two (like he did with everyone else); he made sure Draco could read the instructions on the board (his desk was in the third row and he couldn’t see through the heads of his classmates); when he entered his classroom he always did a double take on him to make sure he was okay; he handed him back his assignments and tests first.

All these seemingly meaningless actions actually masked the Potion master’s true feelings quite well and if Draco hadn’t known the man was his godfather he never would have guessed. He still hadn’t told his friends about the matter. He knew well their feelings regarding ‘Sev’ (that’s what he recently had started calling him in his mind as opposed to ‘Professor Snape’) and didn’t think it would be best to inform them of this important bit of information.

Draco himself had never been targeted by the man (he wondered if this was because of his natural talent for potions and because he was good and well behaved or because Sev had a soft spot for him - personally, he hoped the former) but he could understand why his Gryffindor friends weren’t keen on him: Sev was a ‘bit’ mean to them.

He mentally made a note to ask Sev about his dislike for Gryffindor house when he spoke to him. The phrasing ‘IF he spoke to him’ hadn’t even crossed his mind, not when he knew Sev cared about him. After the initial shock had worn off he hadn’t resented Sev at all for what happened all those years before. How could he have known? And even if he wanted to help him, the wards wouldn’t have let him inside the property as they were iron clad and wouldn’t have allowed anyone at all inside without Lucius’ permission.

(Ah yes, he had started referring to his biological father as ‘Lucius’.  
He knew Lily and James were better parents to him than his biological ones had ever been and he felt he owed it to them to at least address them properly.)

He contemplated telling Anthony, Terry and Michael but reconsidered. He was glad Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were now getting along but he knew the moment he told anyone about this his whole friend group would know and in approximately a few days the whole school.  
Lavender and Terry were quite the gossips unfortunately. He knew they wouldn’t spread the information on purpose to hurt him but he knew the possibility of them letting it slip out accidentally was big.

He considered telling Cedric.  
Cedric would keep his secret.  
Cedric would advise him on what to do.  
Cedric didn’t have problems with Sev.

So, with this string of logic in mind, he found himself talking about Sev to Cedric one evening during their study session.

“I admit he’s a gloomy fellow but other than that he’s quite alright. A damn good teacher if you ask me” Cedric said, not looking up from the parchment he was writing an essay on about the International Warlock Convention of 1289.

“He’s my godfather” Draco had said deciding to act on impulse.  
Cedric froze and Draco watched in silence as a single drop of ink fell onto the parchment.

“What?”

“He’s my godfather” he repeated.

Cedric looked at him with wide eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Does anyone know?” Cedric finally asked after he took a minute to process what he’d just heard.

“I didn’t know: I found out by accident a few months ago. No one knows except for me,” he said.

“That’s... That’s good I think” Cedric said.

“Yeah. Listen... uhm... don’t-”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone” Cedric finished for him.

“Thank you” Draco smiled.

They resumed their studying but not for long.

“I can’t actually believe he’s your godfather. I mean, Snape doesn’t seem like a man who likes children” 

“I know but I heard him with my own ears. If I didn’t I probably wouldn’t believe it myself” Draco said.

“Well, I think it’s good you have some sort of relative” Cedric said.

Draco nodded absentmindedly. He was thinking of what sort of relationship he could form with Sev.

In the end he was glad he had told someone about Sev because he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. He still had to find out a way to inform his other friends but that could wait... for now...

———————————————————————————— 

It was only by the end of the school year that he actually talked to his godfather.  
He mustered all the courage he could and asked if they could have a word in private after class. Sev agreed to this with seemingly no emotion on his face but Draco, who had grown accustomed to reading people’s emotions, saw a little glimpse of doubt and curiosity in those black eyes.

“I know you’re my godfather, Sir” he said boldly and watched as the man froze in shock.

“I know you’re friends with my mother, Lily, and I know she told you what happened to me during my childhood”

“How?” Sev asked him.

“I heard you and Headmaster Dumbledore talking about it by accident...” he said.

A short but pregnant silence followed.

“And... how do you feel about... this?” Sev asked him cautiously after a minute. Draco understood the man was quite embarrassed.

“Honestly? I feel alright... Actually, I feel good. I’ve never had any relatives except for my parents...” Draco said.

Sev nodded.

“If you want to, I think we should start with getting to know one another and establishing some sort of ‘relationship’ and then we can-” Sev said but Draco interrupted him.

“This isn’t a test that you have to pass, Uncle Sev. Just... do what comes natural?” Draco said.

“Uncle Sev?” 

“That’s what I’ve started calling you in my mind. I can stop if you want” Draco could feel shyness rapidly making its presence known in him. 

“No, it’s-it’s quite alright” Sev quickly said.

Draco stood there nervously in silence.

“There’s-There’s just something I have to do first” Sev said as he got up from his chair behind his desk and walked up to stand tall in front of Draco.

Suddenly his uncle’s arms were around him, securing him in a tight hug. Draco awkwardly returned it.

He had only ever seen him be incredibly intimidating so this version of ‘caring Severus’ was quite unexpected.

“I’m sorry-I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you most needed me” Sev said in his ear.

Draco didn’t say anything and simply hugged him a little bit tighter.

“It’s okay” he said as Sev let him go.

“No it’s not. What your parents did was not okay and I’ll regret for the rest of my life that I wasn’t there to protect you like I should have. I can only hope to make up for it in the future” Sev said quietly as he placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder.

He didn’t know what but there was something about Sev that comforted him in a way that James didn’t. Perhaps it was hearing just how much the Potions master cared for him even if he virtually was a stranger?  
Anyway, it didn’t matter.  
He had just gained another relative and he couldn’t wait to get to know him.


	18. Chapter 18

By the time his first year at Hogwarts at ended Draco could say he was happy: he had amazing friends, a great family and a loving godfather and his grades were high as well.

He and Sev had gotten a lot closer and Draco found the seemingly gloomy man actually was quite kind at heart.  
Snoodle liked him as well while Sev pretended he didn’t like the bunny but secretly snuck him treats when he thought Draco wasn’t looking.

He had informed his friends about Sev and surprisingly they hadn’t caused too much of a fuss: Ron had been to only one to protest that Sev was ‘evil’ however as he received no backup from his friends he begrudgingly agreed to give the man a chance.

Harry, after Draco had explained many times how Sev hadn’t been able to help him, agreed it wasn’t his fault and decided he would accept his relation to Draco.

Draco had also talked to Sev about how he treated Gryffindors and his godfather had agreed to slowly stop bullying them in class just because of his past experiences.  
Since then he had noticed little changes in his behavior and this had caused general gratitude in Gryffindor house towards him.  
Unfortunately by telling his friends Sev was his godfather the news, just like he had predicted, spread quite fast and in only a week basically everyone found out.

The ride home on the Hogwarts Express was fun and Draco really had some time to focus on Snoodle, who had grown a bit. With his final exams he had been concentrating on his studies and less on his pet so he decided to make it up to him by playing with little bursts of light (which he knew Snoodle enjoyed).

“I really like your wand, Dray. Can I try it?” Lavender purred in his ear as she reached to take his wand from his hand. She had sat close next to him when they boarded the train.

“Uhm... I’m not sure Lavender. I think you really shouldn’t-” Draco said just as her hand closed on the wand.

Instantly some sort of electric energy coming from the wand itself formed and forced the girl to retract her hand with a cry.  
Draco felt it too but it didn’t hurt him.

“What the hell!?” Lavender said as she quickly shook her hand to get rid of the stinging sensation.

“I’m sorry! I told you not to touch it! It’s very protective and won’t let anyone else use it” Draco said as he took her hurt hand in his right one and with his left he cast a pain reducing charm.

“Better?” he said as he patted her hand, not noticing the crimson blush spreading on her cheeks.

“Yes, thank you” she whispered as he let go of her hand. He smiled.

“Mate, you should get it checked out” Ron said as he warily looked at the wand.

“His wand’s fine, Ron” Hermione said.

“But it’s not normal! He’s not normal!” Ron said without thinking. Immediately Draco’s eyes turned sad as he looked to the ground. Hermione swatted Ron in the shoulder.

Silently Draco got up and left the compartment, ignoring his friends calls for him to stay.

“Please don’t leave. Ron didn’t mean it” Harry said as he followed Draco out of the compartment. 

“I’ll just go... I’ll see you later okay?” Draco said sadly as he walked away.

Harry sighed and entered the compartment again just as Hermione was shouting at Ron while Lavender, Dean and Seamus watched as the brunette stated how it wasn’t Draco’s fault.

Draco wandered the train with Snoodle.  
When he found an empty compartment he settled in it and pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself.  
Snoodle was gently biting at him so he put the bunny down in front of him.

Ron’s words had really hurt him.

“Am I not normal?” he asked at the bunny, not expecting an answer.

He jumped in shock when he received one.

“Depends. What’s ‘normal’ to you?” somebody said from behind him.

He turned around: it was Cedric.

“How did you find me?” he asked with a sniff as the other boy knelt besides him and took Snoodle in his lap.

“I saw you passing by my compartment. You looked on the verge of tears so I went to find you” Cedric said just as a single tear slipped from his left eye.

Cedric furrowed his brows a little and handed him a handkerchief.

“Thank you” Draco said in a whisper as he wiped away his tears.

“What happened?” Cedric asked and Draco explained everything to him.

“-all I wanted was to be like everyone else. To fade in” he said. Cedric placed a hand under his chin and raised his head to meet his eyes.  
They were soft and full of understanding.

“I think you’re amazing. You’re kind and loving and, to be honest, too smart for your own good. I like you because you’re different from others” Cedric said as he pushed back a strand of hair from Draco’s forehead.

“Really?” 

“Of course! Remember this Draco: you are a nice person who bad things happened to. Besides, it was Lavender’s fault that she got hurt. You tried to warn her but she didn’t listen to you” Cedric said.

Draco sniffed one last time and nodded, grateful Cedric was such a kind person who was always ready to help someone in need.


	19. Chapter 19

Spending the remaining time of the trip with Cedric, Draco’s mood slightly improved by the time the train arrived at King’s Cross station.

He said goodbye to his friend but not before promising he would write that summer.

Harry was waiting for him on the platform and the two of them made their way to their parents in complete silence.  
Harry kept on glancing at Draco but the blond never glanced back.

Lily and James were thrilled to see them and immediately started asking them about their time at school, their grades and their friends.  
The two adults noticed Draco wasn’t in a very talkative mood so they made sure to keep the conversation alive all the way home.

As Draco went upstairs to start unpacking his trunk, his parents quietly called Harry.

“What happened?” Lily asked.

“Ron called him and his wand un-normal after Lavender tried to take his wand and it shocked her” Harry said in a disapproving voice, clearly still annoyed with his redheaded friend.

“Why would he do that? Didn’t Ron like Draco?” James asked. He didn’t want his son suffering more.

“Yes, he likes him a lot! He just let the words slip out without thinking and hurt Draco! How could he say that to such a good friend!?” Harry said with a frown on his face.  
Lily glanced at her husband to check if he too had noticed Harry’s protectiveness towards Draco. Apparently he had as well.

She nodded and told her son to go unpack and her husband that she would deal with this.

She went up the stairs and gently knocked on Draco’s door.

“Come in” she heard her son say softly.

She opened the door and found Draco was organizing his clothes and belongings back into his room by neatly sorting them with his wand by color and type (shirts, trousers, etc.)

“I wish Harry and James were half as tidy as you” she said as she looked around the room.

Draco smiled a bit.

“They are quite disorganized. Dean and Seamus tell me I should check out Harry’s bed in Gryffindor Tower if I ever want to see a ‘proper mess’ as they called it” he said as he waved his wand and a set of socks levitated into their apposite drawer.

“I can imagine. Are they boys in Ravenclaw Tower tidy?” she had heard Draco had made some friends in Ravenclaw as well and she couldn’t be prouder of her shy son.

“Kind of. Sometimes they do mess up our dorm when they’re studying: pieces of parchment/books on the beds, on the desks and on the floor; splotches of ink on their fingers and clothes; revision pages thrown about. Luckily for me they never mess up my neat bed because it’s too far away from their ‘study circle’” Draco said as he continued to put away his stuff.

“You make it sound like you don’t study with them” Lily said. 

“Because I don’t. I think more gets done if I study alone on my bed with the curtains shut. Sometimes I may revision with them but otherwise I don’t...” 

Lily frowned and looked at him very closely.

“What?” Draco said as she noticed her staring.

“Nothing. Harry’s grown a bit since Easter but you haven’t and also you’re still as skinny as always” she pointed out. Her son didn’t seem to have put on any weight since he had been home for Eater and Christmas and to her this was a cause of concern.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed” Draco said dismissively. Lily recognized she had hit a raw nerve.

“Have you been eating?” she asked after a minute of watching her son unpack. Draco froze.

“Yes” he said quietly whilst not looking at her in the eye.

“Draco...” she said but received no answer so she continued “I won’t get mad if you haven’t been eating but you have to tell me.” she said.  
Draco seemed to be in a daze as he placed Snoodle’s bed where it belonged.

“One meal a day” he suddenly said quietly.

“What?” 

“One meal a day. That’s all I’ve been able to keep down” he repeated as if nothing was wrong.

Lily stayed silent as she processed the information.

“Okay. It’s going to be okay, Draco. It’s not uncommon to go back to your old habits after being used to them for so many years” she said but Draco simply shrugged.

“It’s important for people of your age to eat properly so that you can grow” she offered.

“Can’t I just eat a meal a day? It’s much less fussy than having to force myself not to throw up every time I eat something other than dinner” Draco pleaded and a little piece of Lily’s heart shattered at the thought of a young boy not wanting to eat because it’s become too much effort.

“But, sweetie, it’s not healthy for you” she said as she placed her hand on his head.

“I feel fine” he countered.

“Now you feel fine but if you keep on eating like this you won’t be” she gently said.

“I’m happy” he said.

“Darling, you may feel happy but I promise you that your current eating habits are not enough to sustain a growing young man and soon you’ll be feeling anything but” she said.

“But if I try now I’ll just go back to eating like before by the time it’s Christmas” he said quietly as he looked at the floor.

Lily thought about this possibility and conceded her son was right. Only one idea came to mind.

“What if I took you to see a specialized therapist? Someone who could really understand your... eating habits” Lily didn’t dare use the words ‘unusual’ or ‘problematic’, not when she knew how much it bothered her son to be called something (anything*) un-normal..

When Draco looked at her with indecision she added: “No one has to know about this. Only you and me” 

Draco looked at her for a few more seconds and then nodded.  
Good.  
At least he understood something was wrong with him.

————————————————————————————

So that’s how Draco found himself sitting in front of a therapist the very next week.  
His mother was sitting right beside him.

“Draco, you’ve only been eating one meal per day, dinner to be exact; may I ask why? Do you feel unworthy of food? Does food repulse you? Do you see food only as a form of fat?” Dr. Susan Dirwin asked him. She was a muggle lady and Draco’s impression of her was one of a very kind person who had a sweet voice.

Draco raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

“I just don’t feel like eating anything ...” he said quietly.

Dr. Dirwin nodded and wrote something in the notepad in front of her.

“When did you start eating like this?” she asked.

“I’ve been eating one meal a day ever since I can remember. My parents weren’t very nice people...” he trailed off. Dr. Dirwin looked at Lily.

“He’s a foster child” Lily mouthed and the doctor nodded. 

“Would you say you’ve grown used to hunger?” 

“Not really. I don’t feel hungry most of the time. Just at dinner” 

Dr. Dirwin raised both eyebrows and wrote some more on her notepad.

“Then what do you feel when it’s not dinner time?” she asked him.

“My stomach feels... closed. I don’t get the urge to stuff food inside it. It feels like I have some sort of plug that prevents me from eating anything, even if my stomach is empty and grumbling” he said.

Dr. Dirwin nodded in understanding.

“Do you ever feel the pressure that you should eat more?” she asked.

“Not really. I eat when I feel like I can, which is at dinner” he answered.

“What is your favorite food, Draco?”

“Uhm... I don’t know... uhm... blueberries?” he said. 

“I should have been more clear... uhm... What is your favorite dish?” the therapist corrected herself.

“Uhh... toast... toast with butter... I think?” did that count as a dish? He didn’t really have a favorite food/dish but he did enjoy toast and blueberries.

“Good. Imagine there was a nice plate with golden brown toast and melted butter in front of you. Would you like to eat it?”

“I think so” he said.

“Would you actually eat it?” 

“No. Probably not”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not hungry right now and I would throw it up later if I ate it” he said.

“Has that happened often?” 

“A few times at first when I didn’t know my limits” 

The therapist nodded and started writing again.

“What about water?” she asked when she finished.

“I can drink water, in fact I do, quite a lot actually; I don’t get the urge to eat though and I know it’s messed up considering how much my friends stuff their faces both at breakfast and at lunch” he said.

“Good. It’s good that you’re aware of your condition: most people who come here aren’t willing to admit they need help. Judging by what you’ve told me so far I’d say you have an eating disorder that is based on habits. Have you ever tried changing them before?” the woman directed the last question to Lily.

“Yes, we have. We tried when he first came home with us by slowly introducing bigger amounts of food into Draco’s diet and by changing it often, making sure he ate a lot of different kinds of food. It seemed to work for sometime but once he went to his boarding school he settled back into his old habits” Lily answered. Draco looked at the floor in shame. Dr. Dirwin offered a sad but understanding smile when she noticed this.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Draco. It is a very common thing that can occur, especially with eating disorders like yours that are based on habits. Starting from now I will follow you with your recovery which I expect you to make completely” she said. 

“Really?” Lily asked feeling relieved as she placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder. Draco himself looked up.

“Of course. I see nothing mentally wrong or unstable with this young man so the only thing we have to work on is getting his body used to eating more food than it has for the past thirteen years of his life. Habits are like a schedule that we have no control of: in this case Draco’s body has gotten so used to not receiving any food during the day that it’s decided to not make Draco suffer by uselessly stimulating his hunger” Dr. Dirwin explained.

Silence followed as the woman wrote something down again.

“Now, to start with your recovery plan: as we are trying to avoid any kind of relapse, I suggest we start small and build up from there. Try eating a little less food at dinner and having small but frequent meals during the day. These meals don’t have to necessarily be dishes, even a few blueberries will suffice because they’re better than nothing at all. Draco, even if your stomach feels sealed try swallowing a few blueberries anyway. It’s important that you do so to stimulate your hunger” the therapist explained and Draco nodded.

“Anytime you feel like eating, no matter the time, you do so. I’m also prescribing some vitamin pills to balance out your vitamin levels. You are to take one of these pills right before dinner and before every complete meal you have” Dr. Dirwin said as she handed him a glass container with white pills in it.

“If you show anymore symptoms please come here at once so we can address them as quickly as possible” Dr. Dirwin said. 

Draco and Lily thanked her and left.  
When they apparated home Draco went up to his room and started planning an organized schedule which he would follow to keep record of his meals. Every time his wand vibrated meant it was time for him to eat something and his wand would register how many times he ignored this ‘call’ and how many times he actually ate something.

As he was feeling particularly blue, he had a quick dinner and went to bed early with Snoodle already sleeping against his chest.


	20. Chapter 20

Draco did follow Dr. Diriwn’s advice but found it very hard: he was full all the time and felt like he could throw up at any moment.  
Harry had asked about his constant stomach aches so Draco had asked if Lily could explain while he went to rest a bit because his head was spinning. 

“Harry, honey, Draco is going through a very draining process right now. Do you remember what Draco’s parents did?” Lily asked as she sat down on the sofa next to her son.

“They beat him and starved him” he said quietly. He couldn’t even imagine someone hurting his Draco that way.

“Yes, and unfortunately starving him left his body in a very delicate condition. Draco is having problems with his eating habits and we are trying to fix them” 

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“Well, he’s been taking some vitamins to help him and he’s been trying to stimulate his appetite by eating more frequent meals”

“But Draco’s been eating! He always has dinner and I see him drink tea in the morning. He does skip lunch though because he’s a total bookworm and prefers to study...” Harry protested.

Lily smiled patiently.

“Harry. One meal a day is not enough for a person to be healthy”

“Is he going to be okay?” 

“He’ll be just fine if he manages to eat some more” Lily said.

“And if he doesn’t?” Harry asked, dreading receiving an answer.

“Then I guess we’ll have to take him to the hospital and get him on IV fluids again...” 

“NO! He can’t! He has to eat! I’ll force the food down his throat myself if he doesn’t!” Harry said in worry. He didn’t want Draco to go to a hospital. He didn’t want Draco to leave him.

He hadn’t realized he had started crying. 

“Shh. He’s a strong one, Draco. He’ll be alright, you’ll see” Lily said as she hugged her son.

“Please, don’t let him go there. Make him-” he sobbed. He did feel a bit childish: sobbing into his mother’s arms at the age of fourteen, crying for her to help Draco when the situation wasn’t in her control at all. 

He stood up and went up to Draco’s room.  
He entered and found Draco laying on his bed with his arms wrapped around his stomach and curled up around himself in discomfort.

Draco looked at him with tired eyes and immediately noticed Harry was crying.  
Harry simply crawled on the bed, later next to Draco and took his hand in his.

“Please eat. You can’t leave me here all alone again. And what about Snoodle? What happens to him if you end up in a hospital bed? He won’t be able to come and visit you and I won’t as well because I’ll be at Hogwarts!” Harry sobbed as he pleaded with Draco.

Draco understood Harry was in one of his sensible moods.

“I’m trying...” he said “it-it just hurts so much...” he said as he clutched his stomach when a rush of pain cursed through him.

Why was it so painful this time? When his parents had first started feeding him more he hadn’t felt any discomfort at all but now he was. Why? Was it because last time he had been eating more during only one meal and now he was eating at least eight times a day? Draco didn’t know and didn’t really care.  
All he wanted was for the pain to go away.

Harry stayed by his side all afternoon and watched him like a hawk during dinner, which for Draco was a very uncomfortable event.

He went to bed feeling exhausted.

————————————————————————————

In the following moths Draco did slightly improve his diet and could now manage two meals a day without trouble.  
With Harry’s constant support and with Dr. Dirwin’s help he soon felt a lot better and didn’t have as much trouble with eating as before.

He had worried what was going to happen once he went back to school: would he have a relapse? Would his friends find out of his eating disorder and not want to be with him anymore? Would they think he was even more weird? What would he say to them when they asked why he was taking pills?

Ron had apologized and clarified he didn’t think he was weird but Draco still wasn’t so sure. It was moments like this (when his insecurities showed) that he would replay in his head what Cedric had said on the ride home; Harry had been also a great source of comfort and Draco was really grateful to him.

Despite this, he was also excited to be returning to Hogwarts because this year the school would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament: a very dangerous competition in which young wizards fought and demonstrated their qualities and strengths for eternal glory.

The tournament itself was only for students who were at least seventeen years old so at least Draco didn’t have to worry about any of his silly Gryffindor friends trying to enter the dangerous tournament. Instead he only had to worry about one friend: Cedric.  
Cedric, who had just turned seventeen, unfortunately was old enough to enter and decided it was a good idea. If he hadn’t known he was a Hufflepuff Draco would have though he belonged in Gryffindor.  
Draco had tried talking him out of it but couldn’t do it, instead he decided to at least help Cedric: they revised and practiced together and Draco even modified the Disillusionment charm so that it would make not only Cedric but also all that he carried with him blend completely into the surrounding area. Basically he wouldn’t be invisible but simply his clothes and anything he would be carrying would take the exact same color and texture of the surrounding space; for example, if he was standing in front of a tree, he would ‘become’ an exact replica of the trunk.  
To be sure it worked, Draco had tested it numerous times before concluding it was safe to use on people. 

Now the only thing that he could do was hope the Goblet of Fire wouldn’t choose his friend and if it did that he wouldn’t get hurt.

Dumbledore’s welcoming speech did include news of the tournament and of the other two schools who would be competing.  
As the students from the other two magical schools entered the Great Hall, Draco caught sight of a pretty and petite brunette girl dressed in a pale shade of blue that was elegantly walking and smiling along with her classmates.  
Since the Ravenclaw table was in the center of the hall he could clearly see the new arrivals and took a good look at the girl: her long brown hair was twisted into soft curls and it framed the delicate features of her face beautifully, she had blue eyes and a pale and delicate complexion. She was a bit shorter than the other girls and was walking at the back of the group along with another two girls, both blonde.

It was only when the Beauxbaton students started settling down at the Ravenclaw table that Draco shook his head and quickly focused on what Dumbledore was saying: he was introducing their guests.

It was only during Dumbledore’s welcoming speech that Draco truly realized just how dangerous this tournament really was. He made a mental note to talk to Cedric and try to convince him not to compete.

Food appeared on the table and chatter quickly picked up in the large room.

He was a little bit hungry at the moment so he quietly served some stew in a bowl and on his plate a little Cornish Pastie with some mashed potatoes on the side.  
As he started eating he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Turning his head he saw it was the pretty girl from before. He hadn’t even noticed she had sat beside him at the very end of the Ravenclaw table. He smiled.

“Hello, sorry to bother you but can you tell me what is this?” she said in a remarkably good english as she pointed to a platter filled with food.

“That’s Shepherd’s Pie: it’s a ground meat pie with a layer of mashed potatoes on top. It’s good but I also find it kind of heavy” he said surprisingly in a non-shy way.

“Oh. What are you having?” she asked as she looked at his meal.

“This is stew: it’s basically meat and vegetables cooked in some broth; that is a Cornish Pastie: it’s a pastie filled with meat and vegetables as well. I trust you know what mashed potatoes are” he said and she smiled.

“Mhh... not really into the mood for that... what do you recommend as a light meal?” she asked him.

“Uhm... I’d say the Bouillabaisse but I think you already eat it enough back at home, so maybe... a simple chicken leg with some salad?” he said. That was what he usually ate when he wasn’t feeling very hungry. 

“That sounds good, thank you! By the way, I’m Kate!” she introduced herself as she placed some food onto her plate as well.

“Nice to meet you Kate, I’m Draco” he said as he continued to eat as well.

“So, how old are you?” Kate asked him.

“I’m fourteen. How about you? You don’t look like you’re seventeen” he said. She still had some more girlish features that her older classmates lacked.

She giggled softly and Draco’s heart jumped slightly in his chest. It was a very soft and melodic sound, just like her voice.

“No, I’m fourteen as well! I came along because I‘m part of the student news paper and am here to report on the tournament” she explained.

“That’s nice! Your english is very good” he said. It was true: she barely had any accent except for the pronunciation of the letters ‘s’ and ‘z’.

She blushed slightly at the compliment.

“My family is british and we speak english at home” Kate said. Draco nodded and resumed eating.

“So... uhm.... could you give me a tour of the castle?” she asked him.

“Sure! I know it can be difficult to find your way around here. I kept on getting lost” he said. She smiled.

“Thank you. You’re really sweet” she said and this time it was his turn to blush.

For the remaining time of the meal they talked together and got to know one another unaware of the important conversation that was going on at the Gryffindor Table.

————————————————————————————

“I think I’m in love!” Ron said as the students from Beauxbatons walked in the Great Hall.

“These are the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen...” Dean muttered as he watched their guests with wide eye. 

As the girls all sat down after Dumbledore’s speech Harry noticed something he didn’t like at all.

“Hey! Why did that girl sit right beside Draco!?” he said and watched as Draco and the girl started talking.

“Don’t know” 

“Lucky sod...” Ron muttered.

“Why is Draco talking to her!? Why is he not sending her away!?” he cried. He didn’t want his Draco talking with stunning girls.

“Because that would be rude, Harry, and have you ever known Draco to be rude? Also, don’t you think that maybe Draco could like her?” Hermione said. 

“Nahh. I don’t think-” he turned his head and saw Draco blush at something the girl had said “-so...”.

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

“If it makes you feel better, Harry, I don’t think Draco is interested in girls” Lavender said and Harry’s heart skipped a beat.

“What?”

“Yeah, I’ve been flirting with him since I’ve met him and he never even acknowledged me so I figured he must not be interested in girls” she said.

“Just because he’s not interested in you, Lavender, doesn’t mean he’s gay” Hermione said.

“No, but he could be!” Lavender said.

“Wait, back up a minute. Why would it make me feel better?” Harry asked after he had processed Lavender’s wording.

“Well, you’re always gushing about him and you keep on looking at him so we figured you were interested in him. It’s totally fine, by the way, that you like men” Ron said and the others nodded.

“Guys, I’m not gay... I think” the last part he added in a whisper.

“Really?” Hermione asked him.

“Yes. No. Maybe? I don’t know! This is all so confusing” he said.

“How do you feel when you’re around him?” 

“I’m happy and excited. I like spending time with him: he’s so nice and sweet, he’s so good with Snoodle and he’s soooo cute when he’s shy” Harry gushed without even realizing what he was saying.

Only after his words had sank in he said something.

“Merlin! I have a crush on Draco...” he said.

“Took you long enough. Not surprising, to be honest, the guy is bloody handsome!” Lavender said.

“That too” Harry said.

“How do I tell him? I mean isn’t it going to be awkward? Technically we’re brothers! Maybe he doesn’t see me that way! Maybe he’s not even gay!” Harry said in a panic.

“Well, Draco was never adopted so he’s only part of your family as a foster kid. Also, I’ve never heard either you or Draco refer to each other as brothers so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t consider you as one” Hermione said.

“Yes, well, what if he’s not gay?” 

“Maybe he just hasn’t figured out his sexual orientation yet and you could be the turning point!” Seamus said.

“But-”

“Harry you’re never going to get the chance to be with Draco if you keep on stalling” Hermione said.

“Yeah, especially with that hot girl making eyes at him!” Dean added. Harry turned his gaze on Draco again and saw him laughing and talking with the girl.

“How do they even understand each other! Draco doesn’t speak french!” Harry said in frustration.

“She could speak english but that’s not the point. Go get him, Harry, before it’s too late!” Lavender said and Harry nodded determinedly.

He got up and started walking toward Ravenclaw table. Half way through however he lost his nerve and quickly walked back to his seat.

“You know what, guys? I think I’ll ask him later in a more private place” he said.

His friends nodded patiently and fortunately let the matter drop for now.


	21. Chapter 21

Their free period came too soon in Harry’s opinion.

He and his friends sat down in a secluded table in the Library and waited for Draco to arrive. He had sent a note to him earlier, asking if they could study together.

A few minutes later Harry’s heart sped up in his chest as Draco walked towards them with a smile on his face.

“Hey!” he said cheerily as he sat down in front of Harry and placed his Potions book on the desk.

“Well someone’s happy” Hermione noticed. 

“It’s a lovely day” Draco said with a bright smile.

“Is the french beauty you were talking with earlier the reason why you’re so happy?” Dean asked Draco, who blushed crimson red.

“Her name’s Kate and she’s really nice! She speaks english as well” he said, avoiding the question.

Hermione looked at Harry pointedly.

“Uh... Draco... are you doing something tomorrow?” he nervously asked the blond.

“Yes, I promised Kate I would show her around the castle”

“Oh... ok” he said and looked down at his book.

“Everything alright?” Draco asked, picking up on Harry’s mood.

“Fine. I’m just worried about finding a date to the Yule Ball” he lied. Draco and the others nodded as well.

“Yeah, I totally have no idea who to take” Ron said.

“Me too” Dean and Seamus said at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned.

“Hermione and I will have to worry about looking our best” Lavender said.

“Well, if we don’t have dates we can always go together as a group” Draco said and opened his text book.

Harry nodded absentmindedly and sighed.  
He would have to ask Draco out another time...

———————————————————————————— 

The next day Draco and Kate had a great time together exploring the castle.  
They talked and got to know each other and Draco found he really enjoyed her sense of humor.

She was smart too and Draco liked her a lot.

He talked to Cedric and tried to convince him to give up entering the Triwizard Tournament but to no avail: his friend was set on placing his name in the flaming cup.

Soon it was time to select each champion: he sat nervously in the Great Hall as Dumbledore extracted the names from the cup.

“The Beauxbatons champion is: Fleur Delacour” loud cheers immediately erupted from the french students. Draco and his friends all clapped politely.

“The Durmstrang champion is: Viktor Krum” Dumbledore said as the Durmstrang students clapped and cheered.

“The Hogwarts champion is: Cedric Diggory” as everyone started clapping and congratulating his friend, Draco could only sigh and clap halfheartedly.

“Isn’t it great!?” Cedric asked him after the ‘feast’.

“Yeah it is now, but it won’t be if you get yourself killed” he said.

“Always so serious. I’ll be fine, Draco!” Cedric said as he patted Draco’s shoulder.

“You say that now...” Draco muttered.

“I promise I’ll be careful. And besides, you’ll help me!” Cedric said.

“Right...” he muttered, still not convinced. He knew, however, that it was too late now.

So he helped in every way he could: studying and reviewing important and useful information. By the time the First Task was due Draco felt pretty confident he had done everything he could for Cedric and now it was time for his friend to proceed alone.  
He sat nervously in the stands and watched as the other champions battled their dragons. 

He recalled what they were fighting for and thought about how not all the gold in the world or infinite glory could convince him to fight against a fire-breathing dragon. After all, Draco thought he knew his weaknesses by now and was sure lack of bravery was one of them (along with his fear of spiders).  
He supposed this was what differenced him from Cedric, who was a Hufflepuff. He guessed bravery could truly come from anywhere, after all their house didn’t define them personally.

He watched as Cedric entered the arena and started battling his dragon: a Swedish Short-Snout. Cedric conjured a cloud of smoke (like Draco has advised him to do) to distract and confuse the Dragon as he went for the Golden Egg. Fortunately his strategy worked and as the dragon experts calmed the beast down and got it back into his cage, Cedric celebrated. People were wildly cheering and Draco was clapping as well.  
Cedric turned to where he was sitting in the stands and grinned at him.  
Draco raised his right eyebrow and smirked in return.

“That was amazing! Great job Ced!” Draco heard the Hufflepuff’s friends congratulating him.

“Guys, the merit isn’t only mine. Draco helped too! He was the one to devise today’s strategy!” Cedric said as he hugged Draco’s shoulder even though he was fairly shorter.  
Cedric’s kindness never failed to astonish him.  
He blushed shyly as the other Hufflepuffs congratulated him as well.

“You were great, Cedric. I’m glad you weren’t hurt” Draco said once they were left alone.

“Oh please, Draco, you were the reason why I wasn’t maimed or burnt alive by that dragon today. Take a little credit for it!” Cedric said.

“I’m sure you would have been fine on your own” Draco said.

“Always so modest! Well, I want to thank you anyway: thank you for helping me” Cedric said.  
Draco smiled in return.

Unfortunately both of them were completely unaware of the avid listener who had heard their ‘private’ conversation.


	22. Chapter 22

“CEDRIC DIGGORY AND DRACO MALFOY IN A SECRET ROMANCE?

That’s right folks! Just after the first Triwizard Tournament task Hogwarts’ champion Cedric Diggory was seen embracing Draco Malfoy, a fourth year Ravenclaw student.  
Diggory was heard thanking the young Malfoy for helping him with the first task and stated he was “the reason why I wasn’t maimed or burnt alive by that dragon”.  
Could this mean the Triwizard Tournament is easy enough for young wizards of the age of fourteen!? After all, Mr. Diggory did say it was Mr. Malfoy who devised his winning strategy...

Throughout the whole conversation Mr. Diggory was fairly hands-on with Mr. Malfoy, who didn’t seem to mind the contact at all, so we’re left wondering: are these two together?  
If you’re one of my readers you’ll know there’s nothing I love more than uncovering a secret romance and that’s precisely what I intend to do! If there’s something going on between these two, do not worry: you’ll be the first to know! 

But why did our beloved champion choose to ‘befriend’ Draco Malfoy, only heir to the Malfoy and Black fortunes and first Malfoy ever not sorted into Slytherin?  
The young Malfoy was adopted only a year ago by James and Lily Potter, who took the boy in after Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy mysteriously disappeared.  
I can’t help but wonder: would Lucius Malfoy be proud of his son’s actions?  
I find it very suspicious that the young Malfoy joined Hogwarts only in his third year. Why not earlier? As for now we have no other proof of him ever attending any other school, which is dubious as well.  
Is Draco Malfoy hiding something foul from the world? What isn’t he telling us?  
I, for one, would be really interested in finding out.  
Stay tuned!

Rita Skeeter”

Draco sighed and put down the copy of the Daily Prophet that Harry had lended him. The two of them were sitting by the Black Lake and were revising their Charms homework, or they were until Harry had opened his news paper and read that article.

“How dare she! Oh how I would like to strangle that vile woman!” Harry was ranting in frustration. Skeeter’s implications about Draco hadn’t gone down well at all with him and he had been raving for twenty minutes about what he would like to do or say to her.

“Calm down, Harry. It’s fine” 

“NO IT’S NOT! IT’S NOT FINE! THAT FOUL REPORTER CAN’T JUST SAY THINGS LIKE THAT AND GET AWAY WITH IT! YOU ARE AN AMAZING PERSON AND I CARE ABOUT YOU A LOT SO I WON’T STAND FOR ANYONE INSULTING YOU AND DOUBTING YOUR INTENTIONS LIKE THAT!” Harry raged.

Draco blinked twice and stared at his friend.  
He was slightly startled because Harry had never shouted this much at him before and it kind of frightened Draco a bit to think about what could happen if someone ever hurt one of Harry’s loved ones. He shook those thoughts away: now wasn’t the time. 

Harry sighed and sat down. He really didn’t want Draco to be subject to some untruthful rumors because he didn’t deserve it.

“It’s just... you’re a good and kind person, Draco. You’ve been through so much in your life... I only want for you to be happy...” Harry said.

Draco smiled.

“I appreciate your concern, Harry, really I do, but you can’t let liars like Rita Skeeter get to you like this. People talk, it’s what they do, and they’ll always have an opinion about me: some will be good and others will be bad. What’s important is that the people who matter know the truth. All the rest are just echoes and voices the wind will blow away into nothingness” Draco said. His words seemed to circle around in the raven-haired boy’s head until he conceded the blond was right. 

“It still bothers me though...” Harry muttered to himself “Does it not bother you?”

“A bit but not nearly as much as it does you. All she did was speculate whether I‘m in a relationship with Cedric and if I’m hiding something about myself. I can see how from an outsider’s point of view these two things can be plausible” Draco reasoned.

Harry didn’t even want to think about the possibility of his Draco being with someone else other than him.

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!? THAT-THAT EVIL WOMAN GOES AROUND SPREADING LIES ABOUT YOU AND YOU’RE NOT EVEN BOTHERED!” Harry shouted at him in anger and stomped back to the castle.

Draco remained shocked into silence.  
It had never happened for Harry to be so blatantly mad about something as to shout at him. 

“Trouble in paradise?” he heard someone say as he turned his head and saw Kate smiling at him in pity.

He furrowed his eyebrows. How did she know-

“I saw him walking away muttering angrily to himself about evil and lying women” Kate said as she sat down next to him. 

“I’ve never seen him so mad about something...” Draco said more to himself than to her.

“I’m sure he’ll come around, after all you’re his friend and the main reason he’s angry is because of what that reporter said about you”

“I take it you read that article?” Draco winched.

“It was a bit hard to miss, it being on the front page and all...” she chuckled.

He sighed.

“It’s not true... what she says...” he said after a minute spent in comfortable silence.

“I never believed it” she whispered and Draco turned to meet her gaze. Kate involuntarily shivered as a cold gush of wind passed around her.

Draco immediately offered her his coat.

“It’s fine, really, I don’t want you to be cold. It’s just my uniform isn’t really fit for your Scottish weather” she attempted to joke but Draco wasn’t having it.

“Please?” he said and used his kicked puppy-eyes.

Kate sighed and accepted his coat.

“Here, I have an idea” she said and pulled out her wand. It was a nice light brown color.

She muttered an incantation and with a swish of her wand the coat had transfigured into a blanket.  
Draco raised his eyebrows.

“Impressive. You’re very good in Transfiguration” he praised and Kate blushed as she got closer to him and draped the blanket over their shoulders.

“So we can both be warm...” she said and smiled at him. He smiled back.

The position they were in left little to no space between them but Draco found he didn’t mind. 

“Sorry if this may sound weird but I really like your smell. I take it’s some kind of cologne?” Kate said after a moment and Draco nodded.

“My mother gave it to me as a birthday present” he said. She didn’t say anything more so he stayed silent, simply enjoying her presence. He could stay like that for days. He didn’t know why but he felt relaxed.

After a few minutes Kate sighed softly and rested her head on his shoulder.  
Draco resisted the urge to stiffen his body and instead rested his head over hers as well.  
He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of her coconut fragranced shampoo. 

Time quickly passed as the two of them fell asleep in their comfy position.

When Draco woke up about two hours later the sky was starting to darken and the weather was definitely chillier. He realized he and Kate had moved while they slept so that Kate was leaning against Draco’s front as Draco hugged her from behind. He blinked and quietly watched the pretty girl sleeping in his arms.

Never in a million years Draco had thought he would find himself in this position. And yet here he was.

“Kate...” he whispered. The brunette didn’t stir.

“Kate, wake up...” he whispered softly again.  
This time the girl did move, although only to change sleeping position: she twisted so that she was facing Draco and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

Draco froze. What did he do? Did he wrap his arms around her? Did he shake her awake?  
She did seem pretty tired so he simply opted for letting her rest.

Ten minutes later he felt her free hand make its way up from his stomach to his shoulder and heard Kate breathe softly. 

He felt her eyelashes moving against the soft skin of his neck as she blinked.  
She raised her head and smiled sheepishly at him.

“Sorry... must have moved while I slept...” she muttered as she yawned.

“It’s fine” he said in a low voice.

She looked up and met his eyes.  
Suddenly both of them realized just how intimate their position was so they disentangled themselves and stood up.

“Uhm... so...” Kate blushed.

Just as Draco was about to say something a sealed letter appeared floating in front of him.

He took it and immediately recognized Sev’s handwriting.

“Mr. Malfoy

Meet me in my office.

Professor Snape”

Draco rolled his eyes at his godfather’s formality.

“Everything alright?” Kate asked him.

“Yeah. Sorry, I have to go: Professor Snape wants to see me” Draco said as he put away the letter.

“You mean your godfather?” Kaye said.

“You know?”

Kate shrugged.

“News and gossip travel fast here at Hogwarts” she explained. Draco nodded and said he’d see her later. He didn’t want to keep Sev waiting.

He quickly walked to the Dungeons and knocked on his godfather’s door.

Immediately the door opened as Sev appeared.

“So, what did you want to see me about?” he said as he sat in front of the Potions master’s desk 

“I trust you’ve seen the article Rita Skeeter wrote? Good. I find her allegations could be quite annoying should she discover something about your ‘past” Sev carefully chose his words and Draco immediately understood he was talking about the abuse he suffered before Lily and James adopted him.

“Professor Dumbledore and I are currently looking into a way to ban reporters from entering the school before and after the tasks and remain on the grounds only during the task itself. In the meantime I suggest you be more careful when around your friends: Rita Skeeter is a horrid and distasteful woman who will make anything up if it means getting some ‘nice and juicy’ gossip. I don’t want her writing any lies about you” Sev said and Draco knew this was his way of saying “I care about you and I don’t want to see you get hurt”.

“I spoke with your parents who asked me to tell you that they’re proud you’ve been helping Cedric and to pay no mind to rumors. Now go, or you’ll miss dinner!” Sev said as Draco thanked him and went down to the Great Hall.

He was taken aback when he saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lavender sitting at the Ravenclaw Table instead at the Gryffindor one.

“Guys, what are you doing here?”

“We decided we wanted to have dinner with you so we looked it up and found there’s no explicit rule that prohibits students from sitting at another house’s table except for at feats” Hermione said as he sat across her next to Lavender.

“Sorry about earlier, Draco. I didn’t mean to shout at you” Harry said sheepishly.

“It’s fine, Harry. I know you weren’t directly mad at me” he smiled.

“Hello” he heard as Kate appeared from out of nowhere and sat besides him.

He missed the tightening in Harry’s jaw and the pointed look his friends sent the boy as he greeted Kate with a warm smile.

“Kate these are my friends: Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lavender. Guys this is Kate” Draco introduced.

“Hi!” the girls and Ron said while Harry simply muttered “Hello”.

“Where are Dean and Seamus?” he asked.

“Detention with Flitwick. Seamus blew up his inkwell again and Dean cursed him out loud. You should have seen it, Draco, simply hilarious!” Lavender giggled.

“I was busy this afternoon” Draco said and watched with the corner of his eye as Kate blushed. Kate touched his leg with hers from under the table and Draco didn’t shy away from her touch.

“You and your studying...” Ron said, taking the topic off of Draco.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be prepared, Ron” Hermione said and further distracted the group from Draco and Kate, who she noticed had shared some sort of secretive and complicit glance.

Fortunately Harry was too busy staring at Draco to notice the brunette girl sitting beside the blond.  
Hermione sighed to herself.


	23. Chapter 23

In the next few days Draco and Kate got to know each other better. Meanwhile Harry was busy trying to figure out a way to confess his feelings to Draco before it was too late.

“Should I send him some roses?” he asked and Ron mentally face palmed.

“Just ask him to the Yule Ball, mate!” Ron suggested, tired of hearing his friend fret on the blond.

“And what if he says no? What if he doesn’t see me that way? What if he sees me more like a brother?” Harry said.

“As I’ve already explained: you’re not brothers! He is a foster child and that means he wasn’t adopted!” Hermione said not looking up from the book she was reading.

“Yes, I know that, but what if he doesn’t like me that way?” 

“Then you can set your heart to peace and move on” Lavender said while turning a page of her Witch Weekly magazine.

“Won’t it be weird then? Also, I’m not sure I could just get over him that easily” Harry said.

“Look, Harry: if I asked Lavender out to the Yule Ball then you can do it as well” Ron encouraged him.

“Fine, I’ll ask him” Harry muttered and got up. Hermione stood as well.

“I’ll come with you” she smiled.

The two started making their way to Ravenclaw Tower but stopped in the middle of a corridor when they saw Draco and Kate talking together at the end of it. Unfortunately they couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Harry’s fists clenched when he saw Draco reach out and tuck a strand of Kate’s hair behind her ear.  
He didn’t like at all the way his Draco smiled at that girl. 

Kate blushed and smiled at something Draco had said and nodded in agreement to it.  
Draco’s smile brightened even more.

The pair separated and immediately after he wasn’t in Kate’s line of vision Draco put his hands in his hair and slumped up against a wall, closing his eyes.

Harry and Hermione approached him and it was only when they were standing directly in front of him that he noticed them.

“Oh, hi guys!” he said excitedly, looking like he couldn’t stop smiling.

Harry frowned a bit.

“So, why are you so happy?” he asked. He had a dreadful feeling it had something to do with bloody Kate Aguillon (that was her surname).

“I just asked Kate to the Yule Ball and she said yes!” Draco said happily and Harry actually felt his heart shatter in his chest.

“Nice!” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Unfortunately Draco knew him well...

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

“Nothing... it just reminds me that I still don’t have a date...” Harry said and Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Well, why don’t you ask the lovely Hermione? You haven’t already agreed to go with someone have you?” Draco directed this last question to the brunette.

Hermione in fact had already been approached by Viktor Krum but between her unhappy best friend and some boy she would without hesitation choose Harry.

“No, I haven’t” she said and turned to smile at Harry.

“Then if you’re okay with this you can go with Hermione as friends” Draco said hopefully, trying to help Harry.

“Sure” Harry said in a low voice. Draco smiled.

“Then it’s settled! Sorry, but I really have to go back to Ravenclaw Tower now: Michael, Anthony and Terry are waiting for me for a Charms study group!” Draco said as he rushed back to his Dorm.

Harry sighed and bowed his head in defeat.  
Hermione pursed her lips.

“It’s not too late you know... if you tell him how you feel maybe he’ll change his mind?” 

“I don’t think so: he asked Kate and won’t go back on his word just because I told him I liked him. Draco’s too chivalrous for that...” Harry said “I’ll just have to hope the ball goes disastrously bad for both of them...”.

————————————————————————————

The ball was going wonderfully for Draco and Kate...

Harry watched them as they danced and for one who had spent basically all his life locked in a cell, Draco was quite elegant and good at leading his partner around the dance floor.  
The same couldn’t be said about Harry’s dancing which was a bit more stiff: Hermione’s poor toes had suffered a lot in one night.

Draco looked amazing and Harry had to make an effort not to stare at him for the whole duration of the ball: he was wearing black robes with a white shirt underneath that enhanced his fair complexion and beautiful ass. Unfortunately also Kate looked stunning in her mint green flowy dress.  
Harry was sure she had picked that color only to please Draco...

“Harry, you can’t spend the whole night sulking” Hermione said as Ron and Lavender emerged from the dance floor.

“I don’t feel like doing anything else... look at them! Slow dancing, arms wrapped around one another. One would think they’re a couple!” a jealous Harry said as he watched Draco pull the brunette closer to his body.

Ron sighed.

“Well, what if they became a couple?” Ron asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Draco would never fall for her...” he said and it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Ron.

“But I think he already has. Mate, there’s a reason why he invited her to the Yule Ball and I’m telling you it’s because he likes her. I dare say she likes him too judging by what I’m seeing now” Ron nodded with his head to the pair and as Harry turned his head he saw the pair slow dancing in a tight embrace. Kate had rested her head on Draco’s shoulder.

“I can’t give up on him, Ron... I can’t...” Harry said as he turned his head. He couldn’t stand to watch his Draco with someone else.

Ron was about to say something more but Lavender reappeared by his side and dragged him away to the dance floor again.

“Harry, you have to accept the possibility that maybe Draco isn’t into guys” Hermione gently said as she watched Draco and Kate.

Harry shook his head sadly and stood up.

“Sorry if I ruined this night for you, Hermione” he apologized and before Hermione could respond that she didn’t mind he had left the Great Hall.

————————————————————————————  
Meanwhile Draco and Kate...

“You look beautiful” Draco said as he looked at the witch in his arms.

“Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself” Kate said with a smile as she rested her head on Draco’s shoulder.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence.

“I-” they suddenly both said at the same time and blushed.

“Please, you go first” Draco said as he pulled her closer to him. Kate raised her head so she could look at him in the eyes.

“I really like you, Draco” she whispered in a breathless voice.

“I really like you too, Kate” he muttered as well and looked at her. Kate then directed her gaze to his lips and he subconsciously licked them.  
She looked up back at his eyes.

Draco decided to be brave for once and slowly leaned in. She seemed to get closer to him as well as he could suddenly feel her breath on his skin. They both closed their eyes.

Their lips were about to touch... 

“Draco! There you are!” someone called from behind them, ruining the moment.  
Draco opened his eyes and sighed.

“Sorry” he whispered. He and Kate were still very close.

“It’s fine” Kate said as he distanced himself from her a bit and turned around.

Cedric was standing there with a smile on his face.

“Sorry to bother you but I wanted to speak with you. Do you have a moment? Alone possibly...?” Cedric said as Draco turned to face Kate.

“Go with your friend, Draco. I’ll still be here when you come back” Kate said with a smile.

“I’ll be right back” he said and before he left he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She blushed and smiled.

As they walked outside Cedric smirked at him knowingly. 

“Someone’s having a very good night” he said. Draco rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it.

“I wanted to apologize, you know, for Rita Skeeter...the article...because I didn’t get a chance before. Also, I wanted to tell you about the egg” Cedric said.

“We know that the egg shrieks loudly when we open it so maybe I was thinking we need to cast some sort of spell to make it reveal its true content? Some sort of translating charm perhaps? Cedric asked. Draco thought for a moment and shook his head.

“Maybe, but I think we have a higher chance of understanding it if we first find out which language this is. I suggest we research on some population that sounds like high shrieks” Draco said. Cedric nodded.

“You’re right. Thank you for helping me, I really don’t know what I would do without you, Draco. I’ll let you get back to your date now. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?” Cedric said with a wink as the two parted.

He entered the Great Hall and looked around for Kate but didn’t find her.

“Zshe went outszide” a girl with a heavily french accent informed him. He recognized her as one of the two blond girls Kate had walked with the first time he saw her.

“Thank you” he said with a nod.

Once outside it didn’t take a long time to spot his date as she was standing alone looking at the stars. No one else was outside due to the cold weather.

“They’re beautiful” Kate said as she turned to him and smiled. He didn’t say anything and simply watched her gaze at the night sky.

He noticed she shivered slightly.

“Here, have my jacket” he said as he wrapped around her the piece of clothing.

“But won’t you be cold?” she asked him.

“Nah, I’m used to it. British weather and all that” he told a little white lie. The truth was he was used to the dampness and cold currents of air that were in his old cell but she didn’t have to know that.  
Kate nodded and got closer to him so that their bodies were touching.

“At least let’s share some body heat” she said coyly and Draco had to stop himself from smirking. Instead he boldly wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her in to lean on him. She rested her head on his shoulder and exhaled loudly in content.

Draco closed his eyes and listened to her breathing.

“What a sickening sight: Malfoy’s got a girlfriend” a cold voice said from behind them.

Draco and Kate turned around to see the smirking face of Theodore Nott and his two bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle.

“Why don’t you come with me, beautiful? We can have some fun together” Nott brazenly flirted with Kate.

“No. I’m very happy here” she said with an obvious fake smile.

“Oh please, I insist. Such a hot girl can’t be with a wimp like Malfoy. He’s so pathetic” he laughed and turned to his two goons for support. The two, like good pets, immediately started laughing as well.

“You know, your inferiority complex is fully justified by your behavior. You’d get a ‘P’ for the way you try not to be a scared little boy” Kate roasted and Draco had to cover his mouth to cover his smile.

Nott immediately stopped laughing.

“Hit a nerve have I? Oops” Kate said.

He glared at her.

“Nott, I suggest you try aloe vera: it helps with burns” Draco said with as much confidence he could muster. Kate smiled proudly at him. She knew he could be quite passive and didn’t like to get involved with arguments.

“This isn’t over” Nott said as he stomped away, followed by his two bodyguards.

“Apparently it is” Kate said in an amused voice as she watched the boy walk away angrily.

“You were amazing! I’ve never seen someone stand up to Nott that way!” Draco said once he was sure the Slytherins were out of ear shot. He really was in awe.  
Kate blushed at the compliment.

“Someone had to eventually. It was nothing” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Well, I still think you were great” Draco said with a smile. Kate smiled as well.

A minute passed in comfortable silence.

“Kate I-” 

“ALL STUDENTS PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR DORMITORIES. CURFEW IN FIVE MINUTES” a magical voice said, interrupting Draco.

“I guess we better go...” Draco said.

Kate nodded and followed him, walking back into the Great Hall, which was half way empty with students (and even a few professors) slow dancing.

“I would accompany you back to your dorm but...” Draco said. He didn’t want to be late for curfew.

“It’s fine, Draco. I understand” Kate said.

“Goodnight” Draco said in a low voice once it was time for them to separate.

“Goodnight. And thank you: I had such a wonderful time” Kate smiled as she kissed his cheek and turned to walk away. Draco stayed where he was.

Before turning around a corner, Kate looked at him and waved. He waved as well before turning around and quickly walking back to his own dormitory.

That night he went to bed with a smile on his face.


	24. Chapter 24

Draco was very busy in the two months following the Yule Ball: with studying, spending time with Kate (and Snoodle who had caught a bit of a cold) and helping Cedric with research he barely had any free time.

He didn’t mind though; he was glad he was helping Cedric and caring for his bunny.

Currently he was in the library reading an old book on ancient languages.  
So far he had made no progress in discovering what the egg’s shrieks meant but he wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.  
He promised Cedric he would help and help he would. Time was against him, however, as the task was tomorrow...

Cedric had fallen asleep about half an hour earlier as it was six o’clock in the afternoon and they had been researching in the library for hours.  
Draco ignored his fatigue and kept on reading until finally his hard work paid off.

“Cedric! Cedric wake up! I think I’ve found it!” he said as he woke his friend up.

“It says here that mere-people, beings with angelic voices in water actually sound like shrieks and wails in a loud, high-pitched whine when on land!” Draco said excitedly.

“So all we have to do is submerge the egg in water and listen? You’re a genius, Draco!” Cedric cried as he hugged him.

“I know where we can go: the Prefects Bathroom! The bathtub there is big enough for the both of us!” Cedric said as they quickly made their way to the fifth floor.

The Hufflepuff whispered the password “Bubbles” and the both of them went inside the room.

A few minutes later they entered the tub with the egg.

“Ready?” Cedric asked him and he nodded.

As they went underwater they heard some beautiful and melodic voices singing.

“Come seek us where our voices sound,  
We cannot sing above the ground,  
And while you're searching, ponder this;  
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,  
An hour long you'll have to look,  
And recover what we took,  
But past an hour — the prospect's black,  
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back”

As they emerged Draco gasped for breath and wiped away the water on his face with his hands.

“We did it!” Cedric said and hugged him while he thanked him. Draco smiled at him.

“‘Come seek us where our voices sound’ so we know the task will take place under water...” Cedric muttered.

“The Black Lake. I read that lots of creatures live in it such as a giant squid, grindylows and merepeople!” Draco said.

“But the Black Lake will be freezing at this time of year! Also, how will I be able to breathe under water for an hour?” Cedric asked and Draco sighed.

“I don’t know yet... I’ll do some research on it. Don’t worry I’ll figure something out” Draco said.

“But I want to help you! I can’t ask you to work this much for me!” Cedric protested.

“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Besides, I like helping you and finding out more information!” Draco said.

“If you’re sure...” Cedric said. Draco smiled. 

“What do you think it means by ‘We've taken what you'll sorely miss, an hour long you'll have to look and recover what we took, but past an hour — the prospect's black too late, it's gone, it won't come back’?” Cedric asked him after a moment of silence.

“I think it’s fairly simple: they’ve taken something you’d sorely miss if you lost it and you have an hour to retrieve this object. If you don’t: then you’ll not get it back. Can you think of something you’d miss a lot? ” Draco asked.

“Mhh... not really. I mean, I’d miss my wand but I’ll have that on me for the whole duration of the task... I’d miss... uhm... my... I don’t know” Cedric said as he frowned.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out what they took during the task then... let’s hope you find this object!” Draco said and Cedric nodded absentmindedly, still trying to think about what sort of object he would retrieve.

“Well, I think this was a productive evening! You should head to bed early tonight: tomorrow you’ll have to be well rested” Draco said as Cedric and him dried themselves off.

“Thank you, Draco. You’re the best friend anyone could ever have” Cedric said and Draco blushed.

As they separated Draco immediately headed back to the library and picked up a very important book. He then went to his godfather’s office.

He knocked on the door and waited.

A deep voice that sounded vaguely irritated said “Come in”.

He pushed the door open and saw his godfather was sitting at his desk, grading papers.

“Draco! Do you need help with something?” Sev asked him sounding surprised. 

“No, thank you. I just came to ask for your permission to brew a potion that could help Cedric tomorrow, Sir” he said. Sev nodded.

“Sure. What type of potion?” Sev said as he got up and reached for the book Draco was carrying.

“I need one that’ll be able to make him breathe under water. This one will do” Draco said and pointed to a chapter in the book. Sev nodded.

“The Brew of Aquaspiritus is tricky to make, Draco, but I think you‘ll manage just fine. You have my permission to use the storage cupboard and the potions classroom” 

“Thank you, Sev” he said as he made his way to the door and left the room.

He walked down the corridor until he was in front of the potions classroom. The room was empty.

He set his book on a book stand and started brewing.

First he added to water some chopped Bat Wings, Dandelion Roots and Cat Hair and stirred three times counterclockwise.  
He then put some powdered Asphodel root in his brew, turning the liquid a deep shade of purple. The next ingredient was a bit more tricky to prepare: essence of Borage ‘skinned’ and sliced into two millimeter strips.  
He stirred once more, this time clockwise.  
He waited exactly eight minutes and seventeen seconds and then added a little piece of Dragon Liver cut into half inch cubes.  
Next was adding exactly four drops of Essence of Comfrey while stirring slowly at a moderate pace.  
He lowered the flame under the cauldron.  
After a few minutes the potions started simmering so it was time to add two and a half Water Seeds.  
To thicken the potion he added some Flobberworm Mucus.  
To make it taste a bit better he added a few drops of Honey Water.  
To strengthen the potion and make it last longer he added some Octopus Powder.  
To make the smell more inviting (because so far it smelled like rotten eggs/fish) he added some Rose Roots and let them soak in the liquid before taking them out.  
A powdered scale of turtle shell was the last ingredient he added before turning the fire up a bit and letting the potion ‘cook’ for one hour.  
The last step was to add a pinch of dried Gillyweed to his potion and make sure it dissolved by stirring counterclockwise.  
He turned off the flame and let the potion cool down for fifteen minutes. By now it’s color had turned to a very dark blue and it smelled like roses.

As he bottled it up he carefully labeled it:  
“AQUASPIRITUS-1.5 HOURS” 

And on the other side of the bottle he added:  
“DRINK FIVE MINUTES BEFORE TASK. JUMP INTO WATER AND WAIT 5 SECONDS. FOR BREATHING-WARMTH-CLEAR SIGHT”

As he finished writing, he magically cleaned up the lab and left the potions classroom. He also cast a cushioning charm on the bottle so if he accidentally dropped it, it wouldn’t break.

It was past dinner time so he just stopped by the kitchens and grabbed a green apple to eat before heading to bed.

As he was walking down a corridor he thought he heard someone behind him but when he turned he didn’t see anyone.

Suddenly something hit him hard in the back of the head and the last thing he felt was a warm liquid running down his neck before everything went black.


	25. Chapter 25

“Has anyone seen Draco?” Harry asked his friends as they sat in the stands. The Second Task was about to start and there still wasn’t any sign of his crush.

“No. Shouldn’t he be here?” Ron asked as everyone shook their heads.

“Yes...” Harry said as he looked around in hopes of finding Draco’s blond head.

“Hello, sorry, to disturb you but have you seen Draco?” Harry turned his head and saw bloody Kate smiling down at him.

“As you can see, he’s not here” he said and turned his head back to the lake.

They had sat in one of the front rows where they could clearly see the dark water.

“Oh... okay... thank you anyway” Kate said, a bit shocked by Harry’s curtness. She walked away.

“ATTENTION: THE TASK WILL BE STARTING IN ONE MINUTE” a magically amplified voice sounded across the the stands.

“Draco really should be here...” Harry said.

“I’m sure there’s a good reason for his absence, Harry” Hermione said.

“OUR CHAMPIONS ARE READY FOR THE SECOND TASK, WHICH WILL START ON MY WHISTLE. THEY HAVE PRECISELY AN HOUR TO RECOVER WHAT HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM THEM. FLEUR DELACOUR WILL NOT BE COMPETING TODAY, AS SHE WASN’T ABLE TO SOLVE THE RIDDLE OF THE EGG” Dumbledore said.

Suddenly a loud whistle sounded and the two competing champions immediately jumped into the water.

“Let’s hope Cedric can pass this one” Ron said beside him, but Harry wasn’t listening.  
He was too occupied thinking about Draco and his mysterious absence.

————————————————————————————  
Meanwhile Cedric...

Cedric was panicking: Draco was nowhere to be found and he still had no way to breathe under water for an hour. He was pacing along the dock.

“Cedric! Here, this is for you” Cedric turned around and saw a young girl with a bottle.  
She handed it to him and left before he could ask what it was.

He read the labels on it.

“AQUASPIRITUS-1.5 HOURS”  
“DRINK FIVE MINUTES BEFORE TASK. JUMP INTO WATER AND WAIT 5 SECONDS. FOR BREATHING-WARMTH-CLEAR SIGHT”

“This is Draco’s handwriting...” he muttered in relief as he uncorked the potion and immediately smelled a sweet scent.  
He drank it.  
It tasted slightly bitter but not in an unpleasant way like other potions. Immediately he knew Draco had modified slightly the brew to make it easier for him to drink.

He smiled.

When he jumped into the water everything was blurry and dark around him and he felt the frigid waters of the Black Lake surrounding him and thought for an instant Draco’s potion hadn’t worked. He then remembered he had to wait for five seconds.

Three. Two. One...

First he felt a slightly tingling sensation in his fingertips and toes. That sensation spread to his whole body and he felt warmth in him almost as if a fire had been lit inside him.  
He also noticed he could now see clearly as if he had night/water vision.  
Next he hesitantly tried breathing and found the sensation of water filling his lungs wasn’t uncomfortable at all.  
He smiled again and tried swimming.  
He didn’t know exactly how fast he was going but it was damn sure he was a lot faster than normal people. 

He saw Viktor with the corner of his eye and was slightly scared of what he had become: a shark with a human body.  
Fortunately he was going in the opposite direction than him. He immediately started searching for his object

He turned right and went deeper into the lake’s depths. There were fish and aquatic plants all around him. To his luck none of them were aggressive and simply ignored him as he passed by them. Just in case he always kept his wand close by in its pouch and every few minutes he checked to see if it was still there.

After a while he nonverbally cast a ‘Tempus’ and found already half an hour had passed.  
He had to hurry.

He swam until he found he was in some sort of kelp forest. In the distance he heard a voice singing beautifully. He recognized it as one of the voices from the egg, or at least one that sounded a lot like it.  
However there was something different about it this time: he didn’t recognize the words and the melody was different, more somber, probably because being disturbed in their natural habitat displeased the merepeople.

He swam towards the voice and was startled by what he saw: a creature with greyish skin/scales, long greenish hair, golden yellow eyes and a silver tail was singing. It looked nothing like the painting of the mermaid in the Prefects’ Bathroom. He recognized this creature as a Selkie.

It was sitting on a rock while it sang and made a necklace out of shells and kelp.

Cedric hesitantly and slowly swam a bit closer to it and stopped right in front of it. The Selkie seemed to take no notice of his presence so he assumed it was safe for him to continue going forward this way.

He swam in the kelp forest for about 150 feet (45 m) when he saw a clearing.

His eyes widened when he realized what was in the clearing: two bodies were floating there, tied to the floor of the lake with kelp.  
Since he was still far away he couldn’t make out who the two people were but he could tell they were students by their robes.

He swam as fast as he could and gasped in shock and horror when he realized exactly who one of the two students was: Draco.  
He got closer to him and touched his face with his palm: Draco was ice cold. His blond hair was floating around his head.  
He also seemed to be unconscious as his eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving at all.  
Getting worried about his friend’s health he glanced down and saw the blond was tied by his ankle to the floor. He took out his wand and cut the kelp, freeing Draco.

Quickly he took Draco by the arm and started swimming towards the surface of the lake, not even noticing the Selkies that were swimming around him.

He didn’t like the way Draco felt lifeless in his arms so he quickened his pace.  
As he broke the surface of the water he heard loud cheers and applauds surround him, but those didn’t matter: he had to get Draco, who still hadn’t woken up, safely back to land.

He swam toward the stands in the lake and got Draco out first before letting himself be helped out too. He knelt beside Draco, who was laying supine on the wood, unconscious and pale.

“Move aside! MOVE!” Cedric glanced up and saw Professor Snape make his way worriedly to his godson and try to shake him awake.  
When that didn’t work he took out his wand.

‘Rennervate’ the professor said urgently.

Immediately Draco’s grey eyes opened and a lot of lake water spilled out of his mouth as he coughed and spluttered. Cedric was so horrified by the amount of water that came out from his lungs and mouth that he didn’t even register Viktor emerging form the lake with his own ‘object’: his best friend from Durmstrang.

“Draco! Draco are you alright?” he asked.

Draco didn’t answer and just lay coughing and panting on the floor. He was shaking from the cold.

“Someone get him a blanket for Merlin’s sake!” Professor Snape barked. Two ministry officials rushed in and handed the man a warm and fluffy towel, which he immediately wrapped around his godson’s shoulders.

Draco‘s eyes were clouded.

“We have to get him to Madam Pomfrey” Professor Snape said. He mentally compared his godson to the boy that was saved by Krum and saw the latter was fine, if not a little shaken up and cold, but Draco looked like he was ready to pass out any moment now.

A tall and bulky looking ministry man lifted Draco and started carrying him towards the castle. Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore followed them. 

As they burst in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey was immediately by his side.

“Place him on a bed!” she said as she hurriedly collected potions from a few shelves.

The man did as he was told and then left the room.

“What’s happening?” Severus asked in an alarmed voice. Dumbledore had never seen him this much worried over a student.

“Everyone out!” Madam Pomfrey said in a loud voce when she got a more thorough look at her unconscious patient.

“No! I want to know what’s happening to my godson, Poppy!” Snape bellowed. Dumbledore placed a calming hand on the fellow professor’s shoulder.

“Come on, Severus. Let’s go outside and let Poppy tend to Draco” Dumbledore said and gently pulled the Potions professor outside.

Outside the Hospital Wing they found a bit of a commotion: Harry was having a full on panic attack while James and Lily Potter shouted at Barty Crouch about putting their son in grave danger. Ron and Hermione were trying to calm down their friend while their other friends watched in silence and waited for news about Draco. Cedric, who had now dried himself and gotten dressed was waiting with the others, looking worried. There was also Kate there with them. She was standing close to the door and looked worried out of her mind. A few tears wet her fair cheeks.

“Harry! Please calm down: everything will be alright with Draco” Hermione said as she grasped her friend’s shoulders.

“He can’t die. He can’t die. Not like this. Not before I’ve told him... Not-Not now” Harry said as he sobbed. He had the image of a deadly pale Draco laying unconscious on the stand’s floor and couldn’t shake it out from his head.

“He’ll be alright. Madam Pomfrey will heal him just fine and he’ll be with us in no time”

“HE’S NOT LIKE OTHER KIDS HIS AGE! HIS HEALTH IS MORE FRAGILE: HE IS CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH A SERIOUS EATING DISORDER AND FRAGILE HEALTH CONDITIONS AND YOU THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO PLACE HIM IN A FRIGID LAKE FOR AN ENTIRE NIGHT AND PART OF A MORNING?!” Lily shouted at Crouch who tried to defend himself.

Hermione, Ron and the others all gasped at this revelation. All except for Harry.

“DID YOU EVEN ASK FOR HIS CONSENT? BECAUSE YOU SURE AS HELL DIDN’T ASK OURS — HIS PARENTS!” James added in fury.

“Lily” Severus said from beside him.

Lily turned around and noticed her childhood friend.

“Severus. Any news?” Lily asked. Severus shook his head. 

“She kicked me out before I could say anything” he said sadly.

Lily sighed. “Let’s hope everything goes well and this is just a false alarm or else I’m afraid we’re going to have a serious problem with this school” Lily said as she turned to Crouch and scowled.

“You better hope my son is alright or else I swear I’ll break your legs, Crouch” James said.

“I’ll have his arms if you don’t mind, Potter” Severus said darkly and for the first time in years the two childhood rivals actually agreed on something.

The group sat outside the Hospital Wing and did all they could right now: waited.


	26. Chapter 26

He couldn’t breathe.  
He couldn’t move.  
He felt ice cold in his bones.

He could only listen to the vague and distant voices around him.

Draco didn’t know how he had ended up here in the first place: the last thing he remembered was brewing Cedric’s potion and then nothing until now.

“Draco” he heard a distant voice call and saw a blurry figure in black over him.

He wanted to answer but couldn’t. He felt heavy and exhausted.

Everything went dark again.

————————————————————————————

He didn’t know for how long he was out this time when he woke up again.  
He was laying on something soft and and felt a bit warmer than before, although not much.  
He definitely was dry; that was for sure.  
He also felt a weight compressing his chest and lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

He tried opening his eyes but found his lids where too heavy.

He tried to breathe a bit better but couldn’t so he tried to focus on something else.  
For example how the room was quiet now and he couldn’t hear the vague voices around him anymore.

He waited for what seemed like hours before trying to open his eyes; this time he managed to only open them a crack but it was enough to tell him he was in the Hospital Wing.

“He’s waking up!” someone said from beside him.

He blinked a few times and opened his eyes again fully.

He was in a hospital bed surrounded by people: his parents, Harry, Cedric and Kate.

“Draco. Can you hear me?” he looked up and saw his mother was standing right in front of him.  
He tried to speak but his vocal cords wouldn’t work so he simply nodded. His throat was really sore and he had a massive headache.

When he coughed James handed him a glass of water but he refused it: his body felt unusually heavy.

“What happened?” he rasped out and coughed.

“You were taken ‘hostage’ as a ‘treasure’ for Cedric to find in the Second Task. Did you agree to participating?” Lily asked him.

He shook his head no.

“I was hit in the head” he paused to cough and gather his voice “and then I remember nothing” he said. His throat really was painfully sore.

“Oh that-that ruddy jackass!” James exclaimed. Lily sighed and turned back to her son.

“How are you feeling, honey?” she asked gently as she placed a hand on her son’s cheek.

“My head and throat hurt and my chest feels compressed” he managed to say.

Lily’s expression worried even more.

“We’ll go talk to Madam Pomfrey — see if she can do anything. We’ll be back with you in five minutes okay?” Lily said as her and James got up and left the room, leaving Harry, Cedric, Kate and Draco alone.

“I’m sorry about this, Draco. If I’d known they were going to take you-” Cedric apologized but Draco didn’t let him finish.

“It wasn’t your fault. Don’t feel guilty about this, Cedric. By the way, thank you for saving me” he said. Cedric nodded but his face didn’t lose its sad look.

“At least you won: you should be happy!” Draco tried to cheer up.

“Happy that because of me you nearly died? No thanks I’d rather be a loser and have you alive and well” Cedric said.  
Draco looked down at his hands.

A few moments passed in silence.

“Rita Skeeter is going to have a field day with this isn’t she?” Draco could already imagine a front-page article with his name on it depicting exactly how he fainted after being saved by his secret lover.

“Probably” Cedric said tiredly. Draco eyed him up warily.

“You look exhausted: you should go get some rest” he rasped out before going into a coughing fit.

Harry immediately jumped up in panic.  
Cedric and Kate leaned in close as well to check if their friend was alright.

“I’m not going anywhere when you’re like this because of me” he cried when Draco didn’t stop coughing. It lasted for two minutes until he managed to control himself.

“It’s fine, Cedric. I’ll be here if you decide to come back later, but right now you look ready to fall asleep while standing” he said in a scratchy voice.

Draco’s eyes went blurry for a moment.

“I’ll be back in... two hours?” Cedric said as he stood up.

“Make that three” Draco said “You need it” he added when Cedric looked ready to protest.  
Cedric sighed and nodded.

“See you later, alright?” he said as he patted Draco’s shoulder.

As the Hufflepuff left, the room remained silent.  
Draco observed his friend as much as he could with his blurry and unfocused eyes.

“Harry you okay?” he asked.

Between Harry and Kate the former seemed to be the one dealing worse with his situation.

Harry stayed silent and nodded.

“You know I’m alright, right? I’ll be fine” he said as gently as he could.

“I can’t lose you, Draco. Every time I close my eyes I see you laying there wet, pale and unmoving and people asking if you’re dead and...” Harry trailed off trying to gesticulate with his hands. 

“I understand but I’m okay now. I’ll be out of here in no time” Draco said. Harry didn’t seem convinced but decided it was best to change the topic of the conversation.

“The others wanted to stay here with you as well but Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t allow it” he said.

“I don’t mind. It’s enough for me to know they care” he said and it was true. He didn’t need gifts or people there with him to express how sorry they felt for him.

Draco’s body wavered a bit and felt unstable.

“Here, lay back down. You’re not strong enough to stay up” Kate said as she gently placed a hand on Draco’s chest and pushed him slowly to lay on his back again.  
Harry’s left eye twitched slightly.

“Harry, could you give Draco and I a moment alone please? I think we have quite a lot to talk about” Kate said and Harry looked at Draco before nodding and tightly smiling at the brunette. He gritted his teeth as he left the Hospital Wing.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Draco, about the eating disorder?” Kate asked. Draco raised his eyebrow. How did she-

“Your parents were shouting at a ministry man and let it slip because of their anger” she said.

Draco sighed.

“I didn’t want to seem weak” he said as he bowed his head. Kate gently took his chin and lifted his head to meet her eyes.

“Don’t ever think that something like that makes you weak. I dare say it makes you even stronger and braver with all that you went through” she smiled at him.

Draco remained a bit unconvinced but didn’t say anything.

He looked at Kate.

“Truthfully, I did wonder why you took all those pills before meals. I guess it makes sense they you’re on drugs of some sort to help manage your pain...” Kate said.

“Drugs? No... they’re vitamins that help supplement what I don’t get...” he muttered.

Kate stayed silent.

“Do you really think I’m brave?” he asked shyly. Out of all the adjectives he could be described with ‘brave’ wasn’t one of them.

“Of course I do. Many people have eating disorders but not many of them are brave enough to do something about them. I’m assuming you told your parents about your ‘problem’?” she asked.

“More or less” he said, thinking about how his mother had gotten him to open up.

“But you still talked about it?” Draco nodded in response.

“My mother told me one of her friends had an eating disorder when they were young and her friend didn’t tell anyone about her disorder” Kate said while looking at the floor.

“How did they find out then?” Draco asked.

Kate looked up. 

“When they examined the body... she also kept a diary in which she wrote everything she did and thought” Kate said. 

“Oh... I’m sorry...” Draco was unsure about what to say. 

“I promise you I’m nowhere near your mother’s friend. I’ve been recovering a lot lately and eating has become less of a burden. In fact, this is the second time I’ve tried becoming normal and so far I’ve been making a lot of progress!” Draco said cheerily.

Kate however looked at him and frowned slightly.

“You already are normal, Draco. You’re perfect just the way you are. You’re not fat or anything and I want you to know that. You literally are the skinniest boy in our year!” Kate said. Draco recognized what she was implying.

“Wait! No, I’m no-”

“Yes, you are, Draco. You’re so thin and I’m mentally hitting myself right now for not realizing what you were going through earlier! From now on I’m going to make sure you see just how handsome and skinny you are” Kate said determinedly.

“Kate, wait, I’m not anorexic or bulimic or suicidal or anything. I don’t not eat because I want to be thin, in reality I really want to eat in a healthy portion!” Draco said urgently.

Kate looked at him shocked.

“Then why the hell don’t you eat!? This is serious, Draco” Kate said.

“I can’t. It’s-It’s hard for me to eat... I don’t want to go into detail, just know that all my life I’ve been used to eating a certain way until when I was taken in by the Potters everything changed and it was too much...” Draco hoped she understood what he meant.

“What do you mean ‘a certain way’. Did you not eat before?” she asked.

Draco raised his head and looked at her, willing his eyes to comunicate what his mouth refused to.

Kate’s eyes turned sad as well.

“I’m so-” 

“It’s not your doing. Please let it drop, I really don’t want to talk about it” Draco interrupted her as he laid back down on his pillow.

Kate nodded.  
Draco closed his eyes.

He heard a creaking noise and suddenly the bed dipped as Kate sat by his side.

Draco didn’t open his eyes for fear of what he could see in her eyes. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel sorry for him and pity him.

“You’re the bravest person I know Draco Potter” Kate whispered as Draco felt her soft lips gently make contact with his. 

His mind took a moment to register what this meant: Kate was kissing him.

He felt her lips slightly move against his so he decided to finally give her a sign he felt the same way about her. He sat up in bed while she placed a hand on his chest.  
He raised his left hand and gently cupped her cheek as the two finally gave into their feelings for one another.  
Kate got closer to him while he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Suddenly pain flooded through him as she ran her hand through his hair and touched the spot where he had been hit when he was taken. He shuddered and pulled away from the kiss to gasp.

“I’m so sorry” Kate hurriedly said as Draco regained what little breath he could without coughing.

“It’s fine” he said as he smiled at her. She beamed at him as well. They were still close and entangled in each other and one little movement forward would bring their lips together again.

He glanced at her soft pink ones as she subconsciously licked them. He was about to lean in again when the door to the Hospital Wing opened again and Draco’s parents and Harry entered the room. 

The two teenagers both blushed red out of embarrassment and separated as Lily and James shared a knowing look. Meanwhile Harry felt like melting into the ground and disappearing.

“Sorry, we just came to inform you they’re transferring you to St. Mungo’s this afternoon to get a more precise check up and treatment if needed” James said as he smirked at his son.  
Judging by their flushed faces both the adults knew exactly what had happened before they entered the room.

Draco nodded still flushed.

“We‘ll leave you two alone for a moment” James said purposefully to embarrass the young couple. He turned to his wife but she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking at Harry, who seemed to be dying inside. He frowned slightly.

As the three made their way to the door, Harry glanced back to Kate, who was being held in his crush’s arms. The two shared an intimate smile and for the first time ever Harry truly felt heartbroken.


	27. Chapter 27

When left alone Draco and Kate exhaled and turned to look at each other.  
Both were still red from blushing.

Kate suddenly started giggling and Draco soon followed her with his own laugh.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed in my entire life” Kate wheezed as she regained her breath after laughing so much.

However, laughing had been a bad idea for Draco as he started coughing.  
Kate worriedly patted his back and rubbed it gently when he finally managed to stop a few minutes later.

“Sorry...” Draco rasped.

“Right now I could kill the person who decided to basically kidnap you and place you underwater...” Kate muttered as she wrapped her arms around Draco and leaned in to rest her head between the crook of his neck and his chest.

Draco lightly rested his chin on her head and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I really like you, Draco” she said after a while.

“I really like you too, Kate” he said.

Kate looked up and smiled at him.

Slowly she rose to meet his face and he pulled her in for another kiss. This one was more intense as both of them had been expecting it: they nibbled at each other’s lips as they surrendered to passion. A few minutes later they both broke away and smiled at each other. The kiss had ended up in a very intimate position with Kate straddling Draco.  
Both blushed.

Kate took off her shoes and laid down next to Draco, who immediately wrapped his arms around her. Kate placed a hand on his chest and rested her head on his shoulder as the two cuddled.

“For the record, my surname is Malfoy, not Potter” Draco muttered as he placed a soft kiss to Kate’s forehead.

“Duly noted, boyfriend...” Kate whispered as she sighed and got even closer to him. She threw a leg over both of his and rested her head directly in the crook of his neck. She was breathing softly on his neck and Draco, who was slightly ticklish there, couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

“Mhh... ticklish there... girlfriend” Draco murmured and Kate smiled.

He took her hand in his as the two fell asleep in each other’s arms.

————————————————————————————  
Meanwhile outside the Hospital Wing...

“Harry, dear, what’s wrong?” Lily asked as the three of them left Draco and Kate alone.

She couldn’t think of any reason that had upset her son other than Draco’s injury.

The unexpected happened: Harry burst into tears and clutched at his mother.  
Lily was shocked for a second before she started calming down her son.  
James watched and got closer to the two.

“He-He can’t... He d-doesn’t-t l-like m-mme” Harry sobbed. Lily raised her head and looked at her husband, who simply shrugged.

“Who doesn’t want you?” she asked as she patted her son’s back.

“D-Draco” Harry said.

“Of course Draco likes you, honey” she soothed. The two boys had really taken to each other and both the adults were sure the boys liked each other and enjoyed hanging out together.

“N-No he-he do-doesn’t. H-He likes b-bloody K-Kate” Harry wailed.

Lily suddenly understood what the problem was and judging by James’ expression he had too.

“I k-know it’s wrong and-and I shouldn’t like him but I d-do and it hurts to see him with Kate. I was going to-to tell him but-but” Harry said in a rush as he sniffed and cried.

“Oh Harry, we can’t choose who we love” James said gently as he patted his son’s back.

“I’m sure Draco will realize just how much you mean to him one day. After all, he hasn’t been around people for a long time, unlike you, and he’s probably not sure about his sexuality yet” Lily said.

“But-But he’s with K-Kate now...” Harry said as he finally stopped crying and wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his shirt.

“I know sweetie, but if you’re really meant to be together then it’ll happen” Lily smiled at her son.

“I have to go now... my friends will want to know about Draco...” Harry said, a bit embarrassed about crying on Draco to his parents. He rushed off to Gryffindor Tower. 

Lily sighed. 

“Well that was...unexpected. Who would have thought: Harry’s gay” James said with a little laugh. Lily turned to her husband and gave him a death stare.

“-which is fine by the way” James added.

Lily rolled her eyes.

“I just hope he doesn’t end up hurt in the end. I hope they both don’t...” Lily said. She shook her head.

“Enough of this. Someone knocked out our son with a blow to the head, gave him a concussion and basically drowned him. I think we’ve got some work to do” James smirked and grinned at his wife, placing a kiss on her cheek. Lily smiled slyly as the pair made their way to the Headmaster’s office.

————————————————————————————

Draco was transferred to St. Mungo’s that afternoon where the Healers discovered he had ingested a lot of water during his time in the lake and not all of it had come out. Part was in his lungs, explaining why Draco was having a lot of trouble breathing.  
For that they gave him a special potion designed for expelling liquids so he spent part of the afternoon throwing up dirty lake water in a self cleaning bucket. His already sore throat felt like it was on fire after that and even swallowing his own saliva had become painful.

The cold had also done a lot of damage to his body so he was placed in a magical chamber with warming charms for a few hours to get the cold out from his bones.

The Healers had also asked about his eating disorder and while they had seen lots of progress form his earlier charts (judging by his weight) they still decided to give him a course of intravenous IV fluids since his throat hurt too much for him to actually swallow food.

He stayed at St. Mungo’s for the night as Healers monitored his health conditions.

The next day Draco found he could breathe a lot better than before and he didn’t have a weight on his chest anymore. His throat also felt a lot better and he suspected the Healers had given him something for that while he slept. Anyhow, he wasn’t complaining.

The only thing that hadn’t gotten better were his headaches.  
For that the Healers initially hadn’t been able to do anything because of the already high doses of potions and medicines he was taking for his other health problems.  
But now, even after receiving Muggle painkillers and a dose of two different headache-relieving potions he felt like someone was splitting his head in two with a saw or an axe while they pushed his eyes into their sockets.

Lily and James stayed by his bedside as Draco sweated and dealt with the pain by closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

Soon James couldn’t take it anymore and went out to speak with his son’s healers while his wife stayed with the poor boy.

“Isn’t there anything you can do to help him?” James asked Healer Montary, the same healer that had treated Draco a year and a half ago.

“Unfortunately, first we have to find out what is causing this symptom before curing it. He’s been scheduled for an MRI scan in twenty minutes so hopefully we can see if he’s had any trauma in his head that we’ve missed. His chart did say he was hit in the head; do you know what object was used?” Healer Montary asked.

“No, we don’t know what or who did this as the Ministry swore them to secrecy and Draco doesn’t remember anything because he was hit from behind. A Professor did explain it was necessary for them to knock my son out the physical way because magic would have had interfered with his magical sleep down in the lake”

“Children are more vulnerable than adults and should not be included in such dangerous ‘games’”.

“Unfortunately my son was tied up under water without so much as being given a choice. I know Draco and he wouldn’t have agreed to participate in such a dangerous task” James said.

“Of course, Mr. Potter. Rest assured we will do everything we can to help your son. The poor thing has gone through enough” Healer Montary said. 

He had been the only person in St. Mungo’s who hadn’t been obliviated and knew of Draco’s abuse. James and Lily has asked this because they thought it was safer if someone at the hospital knew of Draco’s past and of his previous health conditions.  
The man, of course, had taken an Unbreakabke Vow and had sworn not to tell anyone about Draco.

The MRI revealed something horrible: Draco had a pin lodged in his head that was hitting the central pain system, causing all the pain Draco was currently feeling.  
It had probably gotten there when the ‘attacker’ had hit Draco’s head and given him a concussion.

Draco was immediately taken into a very delicate and long surgery and the pin was removed successfully.  


Another relatively good thing was that the pin was in the lower back of Draco’s head and it hadn’t been necessary to shave his whole head but only a little spot which was almost unnoticeable. He would have a little scar but it would be covered by his hair so it didn’t matter too much. He already had a few scars around his body so he didn’t much care if another one was added to his collection.

He was just glad his head pains had reduced a lot and now they were at least manageable by pain-relieving potions.

Overall he had stayed at St. Mungo’s for four days.

He spent almost all day sleeping because he was under a lot of painkillers as the Healers monitored his recovery, which was going smoothly so far.

By the sixth day, Draco was beginning to feel quite lonely as he hadn’t been able to see any of his friends and his girlfriend (it still felt a little odd to refer to Kate by that name) and even his godfather since he was admitted. 

In the end Healer Montary discharged him with a bright smile a week after he had gotten surgery (in total he spent about nine days at the hospital, he didn’t really know). He did however advise him to take it easy for a few more weeks and prescribed him to take a dose of painkillers two times a day for the first week. 

The tenth day he and his parents rode back to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express since his parents didn’t want him alone for such a long period of time. 

As he said goodbye and entered the castle by its main doors he was immediately engulfed in a tight hug by Kate, who carefully made sure she didn’t touch his head. Stitches and all that...

“I’ve missed you so much” she whispered as she kissed him on the mouth. He responded eagerly.

A cough interrupted them.

He turned his head and saw Cedric was standing there with an amused smile on his face.

“Glad to see you’re still alive, champ” Cedric said as he hugged Draco as well.

“Glad to be back” Draco smiled.

“How’s your head?” Kate asked him as the three of them started walking to the Great Hall for dinner.

“It’s been better but it doesn’t hurt so much now” he said.

“I’m really sorry about all this, Draco” Cedric said. If it hadn’t been for him, all of this would have never happened.

“It’s alright. It’s not like you were the one who planted a pin in my head” Draco attempted to joke but failed miserably.

“No, but it was because of me that you were almost drowned and suffered through a serious head injury...” Cedric muttered.

Draco stopped and turned to face his friend.

“Cedric, please stop blaming yourself over this. I don’t blame you for what happened, I blame the people who organized the task. Please?” he said. Cedric nodded.

“I heard your parents sued Barty Crouch” Kate said.

“Yeah...they did. They were really mad about this” 

“Which is understandable” 

Finally his tired mind caught up with the conversation.

“Wait.. how do you know all this?” he asked.

“Your parents informed us. Plus... uhm... Rita Skeeter may have written a few articles about you” Kate said.

Draco’s eyes widened.

“Don’t worry: they’re not all that bad. They point out how despicable the Ministry’s actions were, placing in such peril a young and unhealthy boy” Cedric said in a tight voice.

“Why do I get the feeling that’s not everything she wrote?” he grimaced.

“She also said this basically confirmed her theory about you and I being together because I saved you...” Cedric said.

“And?” 

“She also wrote everything about your health conditions: about your respiratory problems, about your head surgery and about your-your heart stopping... is this true? Did your heart really stop?” Cedric said.

“No, my heart didn’t stop. But everything else is true” Draco said.

Cedric pursed his lips while Kate sighed and closed her eyes.

“Exactly how that woman gets her information is a mystery to me. All I know is that she wrote it and all the school knows about it” Cedric said.

“Prepare yourself because once we go in there you’re going to be the center of the attention” Cedric said as he pointed to the Great Hall’s double doors.

“Great... just great...” Draco muttered as he frowned but immediately stopped when he felt one of his stitches throb.

“Are you ready?” Cedric asked.

“Wait” Draco said. He looked down and clasped Kate’s hand in his. Kate smiled.

“Ready” he said. 

“Awww you two are so cute” Cedric said with a bright and slightly teasing smile.  
Draco rolled his eyes but kept a fond look on his face.

“Please just open the door, Ced” Draco said.

Cedric laughed and pushed open one of the doors.

As Draco entered the Great Hall he could basically feel every person in the room staring at him as he sat down.

As the food appeared on the tables the whispers started and random people (even from other schools) began coming up to him and expressing how sorry they felt for what happened and how they were glad he was alright now.

Draco was both flattered and embarrassed at the same time. He hated being the center of the attention and couldn’t wait until he was in the privacy of the curtains of his own bed that night.

He had a quick meal with Kate, Anthony, Michael and Terry who were adamant enough about keeping the conversation away from anything related to the task and to Draco’s health. He really appreciated this.

As he and Kate left the Great Hall he found his Gryffindor friends were waiting for him. 

When the loud group noticed him they all said they were glad to have him back.

“Here. This belongs to you, mate” Ron said and handed Draco his white wand.

Draco stared at Ron in shock.

“You lost it when they took you and Dumbledore asked if one of us could keep it safe and return it to you when you came back” Ron explained.

“Thank you. I was wondering where it was” Draco said as he put his wand away.

“Hey” he turned his face back to the group and saw Harry was smiling at him.

“Hi Harry!” Draco said and hugged his friend. Weirdly Harry stiffened a bit for a moment before relaxing. Draco thought nothing of it.

“I’m so happy you’re okay. Never do something like that to me ever again” Harry whispered into his ear as he hugged him fiercely.

“I promise I’ll try not to” Draco said as the two separated. Draco yawned.

“Guys, lets leave the poor bloke alone. My boy’s tired and needs his beauty sleep” Seamus joked and Draco smiled. 

“Sorry. I promise we can talk some more tomorrow okay? We can all sit together at breakfast” Draco said.

The group nodded or generally said ‘okay’.

As Draco and Kate walked away hand in hand, Ron placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder and patted him.

“Sorry, mate” Dean said.

They knew Harry’s crush on Draco and they also knew about Draco and Kate.

Harry sighed and walked away without saying anything.

————————————————————————————

“Miss Aguillon, I need to speak with my student. If you could please leave us alone for a few minutes: I’ll return him to you shortly” someone said from behind them as they walked to Ravenclaw Tower.  
Draco immediately recognized the voice.  
He turned around and smiled.

“Sev!” he said and rushed to hug the man.

For the first time ever Sev actually flushed a tiny bit and responded awkwardly to the hug.  
Draco smiled to himself: he knew Sev was uncomfortable with publicly displaying his affection but honestly, Draco didn’t mind if Kate knew how much his godfather loved him.

“Sure thing, professeur” she said with a hint to her french accent and left the two alone.

“Merlin, I was so worried...” Sev said as he hugged the blond.

He inspected Draco’s visible injury (basically his scar) and muttered angrily to himself.

“I ought to bash in the head of the person who dared to do this to you... see how they like it... that bloody tosser...” Sev muttered.

“It’s not necessary, Sev, really. I’m okay now” Draco said.

“Yes, you look perfectly healthy” Sev retorted sarcastically and Draco rolled his eyes.  
He flinched however when his head throbbed slightly.  
Sev looked at him knowingly.

“Why don’t you go and rest. I’m sure you can spend time with your girlfriend tomorrow, Draco” Sev suggested.

“That’s what we were going to do” Draco said.

“We?” Sev raised his eyebrow and tilted his head to the side.

“Yes, ‘we’” Draco said boldly.

Sev sighed.

“Do I have to explain to you the ways of procreation?” Sev grimaced.

“No, need. I’ve been around Sixth and Seventh Year students enough to know all about sex, Severus” Draco said and smirked slightly when he saw the man’s breathing hitch slightly. He really enjoyed embarrassing his usually calm and collected godfather.

“Anyway don’t you think we’re a bit too young for sexual intercourse?” he asked as bluntly as possible and watched Sev blush slightly again. 

“Uhm... yes, I was — I was just checking” Sev stuttered.

“Don’t worry, Sev. We’ll only cuddle and kiss a bit before falling asleep together on my bed” Draco openly smirked this time when he saw his godfather’s lips tremble slightly.

“Uhhh- I uhh” Sev tried to say but the words got caught up in his throat by the embarrassment. Draco now understood why Sev had never had any children: if this was how he treated the matter of sex he knew Sev would probably be more embarrassed than his children when having THE talk.

“I’ll see you tomorrow alright? Bye!” Draco said and hurried up the last few stairs to Ravenclaw Tower.

Even though he was out of breath and exhausted, he took the time to thoroughly kiss goodnight to his girlfriend as the two of them feel asleep in each other’s arms.


	28. Chapter 28

Draco was really glad he had returned to Hogwarts so soon for two main reasons: first he could be around his friends and girlfriend again and second he was reunited with Snoodle.

The poor bunny, like his friends, hadn’t been able to visit him at the hospital so his dorm mates took care of him while Draco was in St. Mungo’s. He played with Snoodle and smiled. He had missed his little friend like crazy when he was away and he was eager to make up for the time they had lost.

He also managed to catch up with his homework and refused to be given different assignments from his classmates just because he had suffered a head trauma and was still recovering.

Since he was on painkillers basically all day and night, he felt fine and beside the occasional tug at his stitches, his whole ordeal didn’t bother him that much anymore.

People still whispered and stared at him when he passed in the hallway but by now he had gotten used to it. Rita Skeeter still occasionally published an article about Draco but on a whole she didn’t spread too many lies and except for him being in a passionate relationship with Cedric, everything else she wrote was more or less true. Fortunately she had dropped the fact that he could be using Cedric and wasn’t to be trusted so mainly people just thought he was gay.

Currently he was in the Great Hall for breakfast and after managing to eat an entire green apple he felt great and couldn’t wait to start his day.  
He had a Potions’ Test that morning and he was absolutely sure he was going to get a perfect grade.  
He got up and started walking toward the exit to leave.

“Oi Malfoy!” someone said from behind him. Unfortunately he knew this voice all too well.  
He sighed. He knew why Nott had picked today to bully him: Severus hadn’t been present at breakfast because he was busy preparing everything for the test in his classroom; Kate was busy studying so she had told him she would skip breakfast so she could finish her homework. He had offered to help her but she had refused and said she’d rather he have breakfast: ever since she had found out he had problems with eating she had been nothing but supportive, which he immensely appreciated. Harry also had started paying a lot more attention to him and Draco felt the two of them couldn’t be closer.

“All alone? Isn’t your faggot boyfriend with you?” Nott snickered. Draco raised an eyebrow. He saw with the corner of his eyes Harry stand up in anger and Ron pull him back down to sit. He was grateful to the red-head: he didn’t need Harry to cause even more of a scene.

“I mean, everything about him screams ‘bent’. Look at him!” Nott laughed and only his two goons laughed as well. The entire Great Hall was silent and looked disapprovingly at Nott. Even the teachers were watching, ready to intervene.  
Draco didn’t see what was so funny: he was dressed in the usual Hogwarts uniform.

“It’s too bad your boyfriend didn’t let you drown, Malfoy, he would have done the world a great favor by letting you die” Nott said cruelly and watched him closely.

Draco tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms over his chest, not letting any emotion pass over him except for total indifference.  
Clearly Nott’s intent was to humiliate him in front of the entire school but Draco wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. This time he wouldn’t run away with his tail between his legs just because Nott insulted him: he had been thrown much more hurtful insults by his own father. Nott was just a warmup compared to Lucius Malfoy.

The Slytherin seemed to be a little taken aback by Draco’s indifference but that didn’t discourage him from insulting the blond. It just spurred him on and made him more determined to have the Ravenclaw running away with tears in his eyes once he was finished ‘talking’.

“If I were you I would kill myself, Malfoy. It would make me much happier!” Nott provoked him again.

Draco simply stayed silent as the three boys in front of him laughed.

Draco had had enough.  
This parade ended here.

“Do you like yourself, Nott?” Draco suddenly asked and looked at Nott. 

Nott stopped laughing and looked at him as if he was mad. When he didn’t answer, Draco continued.

“I think you don’t. And that’s why you feel the need to take out your frustrations on people you deem ‘weaker than you’. You felt threatened by me the moment I stepped into the Great Hall to be sorted didn’t you? Malfoys have always been in Slytherin and you thought that because of my presence you suddenly wouldn’t be top dog anymore. Do you really believe that by insulting me you’re establishing ‘dominance’ in front of the other Slytherins?  
If you do, know this: a life lived to please others isn’t a life worth living.  
You would be a lot happier if you stopped being angry and mean all the time and simply accepted yourself for the way you are.  
Because I know somewhere in you there’s a part that isn’t a bully, a part that doesn’t enjoy hurting people. You just have to let it show.  
Let’s be honest here, Theo: you’re not happy.  
I get it. You have a lot of pressure on your shoulders, having to live up to people’s expectations and all that. This, however, doesn’t give you the right to mercilessly bully other people, because in the end it just makes you more unhappy.  
Instead of spending your time thinking about how to humiliate me or others, try focusing on what really matters: try spending some time with your actual friends or maybe try picking up a hobby. Anything goes. Just do something that you enjoy and actually makes you happy, because I’m sure you’re not as mean as you think you are.  
When you‘re at peace with yourself, you’ll notice you won’t feel like you have to bully others just to impress people who shouldn’t mean anything to you in the first place”

Nott was shocked into silence with his mouth hanging open and a few people in the Great Hall gasped in shock.

Crab and Goyle, being the two idiots they were, immediately started laughing.

“Are you going to cry now, Nott?” Goyle laughed harder. Nott looked at the floor, knowing what Draco had said was true though not knowing how to respond.

Draco turned to the other two laughing Slytherins and stared at them.

“If you really were half as loyal as you Slytherins claim to be, you would comfort your friend instead of laughing in his face.  
I may not know you well personally, but I do know you care about Theo at least a bit in your own way and acting like you don’t care now doesn’t make you seem any better than him. Actually, it makes you come off as even worse! Because at least he has a reason why he’s bullying people, you on the other hand blindly follow him around and do everything he says just to make yourselves look good; and when you see Theo doesn’t have as much influence as before you immediately turn on him by laughing and automatically dissociating yourselves from him.  
I suggest you start acting like true friends or else you’ll be alone. And trust me, nobody wants to be alone in a world like this” 

Crabbe and Goyle immediately shut up and stared at him.

Draco, feeling proud of himself, smiled and walked away, leaving a shocked Great Hall behind him.

Hesitantly at first someone (most likely Harry...) began clapping and soon most students were cheering at what Draco had said. Nott, Crabbe and Goyle fled the room when they noticed people were still giving them dirty looks...

Dumbledore smiled.

“Very remarkable... such a lovely boy, unlike every other Malfoy before him: I wish he had been a Gryffindor. Is it possible that the Sorting Hat was wrong when it said Draco would have been unhappy there?” Professor McGonagall asked and smiled as well.

“No, Minerva. If Draco had been in Gryffindor he would have been influenced by Harry and his friends: being alone in a different house left him open to new friendships, such as Mr. Diggory, and to forming his own opinions. If Draco had been a Gryffindor, Harry would have been the one defending him today and Mr. Nott would have never been taught a valuable lesson. Draco unlocked his true potential in Ravenclaw; besides, the boy absolutely loves reading!” Dumbledore said.

McGonagall nodded and resumed eating her meal all while thinking about what the young Ravenclaw had just said.

“Draco is absolutely brilliant! How he cleverly roasted Nott... oh I think I love him even more now!” Harry exclaimed to his friends.

“Harry, stop fangirling over him!” Seamus smirked at his friend.

“Why does Kate have to exist? Can’t she go back to France?” Harry whined.

The others chuckled.

“There, there, mate” Ron said as he patted his friend’s back, a hint of amusement on his face.

“Did you notice how Draco didn’t deny being gay? Maybe I do have a chance after all! Oh and when we get together it’s going to be so great! I already know what we’re going to do: taking long walks together because Draco loves being outside, cuddle by the fire after a long day, hold hands and rub our noses together and study together because Draco would be worried about my grades and would make me study” Harry said excitedly. His friends stared at him.

“Okay, am I the only one who thinks that’s a bit creepy?” Lavender asked as a few of the other Gryffindors nodded.

“Oh please, as if you weren’t imagining what it would be like to be Draco’s girlfriend when you were trying to seduce him!” Harry said jealously. He didn’t like the idea of other people fantasizing about his Draco.

Lavender shrugged and took a sip of Pumpkin Juice out of her goblet.

“He will be mine...” Harry whispered determinedly.


	29. Chapter 29

By dinner time the whole school knew what had happened that morning during breakfast and a few people had congratulated him about what he had said.

It was even better when neither of the three Slytherins showed up for dinner and the rumors started flying around, saying Nott wouldn’t dare bully anyone anymore. Draco could only hope...

His test had been perfect, as expected, so he was very happy about that as well. When Sev has heard about what he did in the Great Hall he hugged Draco and told him how proud he was that he wasn’t scared by bullies. Draco suspected it reminded the man of that time he helped the blond against the three Slytherins who had cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx on him. Draco enjoyed this moment with his godfather before heading to Charms and being ambushed in the corridor by Cedric, who was frantically saying how he was so happy Draco had put Nott in his place and how proud he was as well.  
In the end he had almost been late to his lesson...

Harry also had been very proud of him, saying how he was so brave and could have been one of the best Gryffindors. Harry promised Draco he would make sure Nott stayed away from him in the future, but Draco managed to convince him not to; call him stupid but the Ravenclaw had a hunch Nott would think twice before insulting him so openly again.  
Draco enjoyed being praised by his friends, especially Harry, he liked seeing the way his green eyes lit up in excitement.

Kate had been happy as well when she heard what he did and showed how proud she was by giving him a long and passionate kiss which was only interrupted by the bell ringing, signifying it was time for Artimancy class.

Overall he had a pretty pleasant day.

That night as he laid on his bed, even Snoodle seemed happier than usual as the little fella hopped around on his bed and cuddled with him. Draco chuckled and gave his beloved pet a kiss before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

————————————————————————————

Two days passed until something really strange happened.

“Mr. Malfoy, could I please have a word?” Headmaster Dumbledore asked with a smile.

Draco stood up from his seat at the secluded library table where he had been studying.

“Of course, Sir!” he said and smiled. In the back of his mind he wondered whether this had anything to do with Nott and what he had said.

“Please, bring your friend with you, he’s quite welcome” Professor Dumbledore chuckled and nodded towards Snoodle, who was slowly hopping around on the table and sniffing at Draco’s book.

“Sure thing, Sir” Draco said and gently picked up his bunny and placed him in his arms.  
Snoodle soon settled down as Draco started petting him.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for rabbits and hares, you know, and I happen to think your friend here is quite adorable” Professor Dumbledore said as Draco magically packed up his things and followed the teacher through some corridors.

“Sir, forgive me, but where are you taking me? Am I in trouble?” Draco asked. He hadn’t been in this part of the castle before...

“No, Mr. Malfoy. On the contrary, you’ve been very good. We’re here because I would like to show you something” Dumbledore chuckled as he pushed open a small door and led them into a huge room with a tall ceiling; as he looked around he saw the only piece of furniture in it was a mirror in the center.

He hesitantly stepped in front of the mirror and turned to look at Dumbledore.

Draco turned around and looked at the mirror: he saw himself smiling back at him.

Why had Dumbledore brought him here just to show him his own reflection?  
He furrowed his brows and frowned but when his reflection in the mirror didn’t frown as well he jumped slightly in shock.

“What do you see?” Dumbledore asked him.

“I see myself. Smiling” Draco said as he warily watched the image in the mirror.

“What does it mean? What is this mirror?” Draco asked as he turned away from the clearly magical object.

“This, Mr. Malfoy, is the Mirror of Erised and it shows your deepest and most desperate desires. I’ve only ever brought few students in this room and by far you have had the most interesting reflection” 

“But what does it mean?” Draco looked back at the glass and saw the same exact image again. He hated not knowing what it meant.

“It means that your deepest and most desperate desire is to ultimately be happy. It does make sense for a boy who has known nothing but solitude and pain all his life to want happiness” Professor Dumbledore said.

“But I am happy” Draco said “I have a loving family, amazing friends, a wonderful girlfriend and a pet bunny!”

“The mirror does not lie, Mr. Malfoy” Dumbledore said and walked away with a knowing glint in his eyes.

Draco looked at the mirror one last time before leaving.

He decided not to tell anyone about this conversation.

————————————————————————————

Draco and Cedric trained and studied harder than ever before for the Third (and final) Triwizard Task.

After his parents had sued for his injuries, the Ministry has officially declared that no other student would be involved in the tasks so at least they didn’t have to worry about Draco having his head bashed in again.

Draco had also been very busy researching some useful healing and defensive spells to help prevent anyone sneaking up and hurting him again.  
He had wondered why his wand (which could sense if people had bad intentions towards Draco) hadn’t sensed his attacker when he went to hit him from behind but he had concluded that the wand hadn’t warned him because this person hadn’t actually meant to harm him and only to knock him out, which signified that at least his attacker felt guilty about hitting him.

So he learnt various extensive healing spells: not only for him, but for anyone else who was around him that needed help. He had decided it was better if he actually knew the charms instead of relying on his ‘gift’ and on his wand.

He did find it more tricky though to learn the defensive spells because he didn’t actually plan on ever using them if not in a situation of great need. Anyway, by the time the school year was almost over he had learnt basically every spell he could and practiced them during Easter break and every other free moment he could spare.

Since it was June, the weather had gotten a lot warmer and he could be outside with Snoodle and Kate while they studied for his final exams.

Draco knew their time together would most likely end soon so he tried to spend as much time as possible with his girlfriend.  
The two of them had gotten really close and he would sorely miss her when she returned to France.  
Although they hadn’t done anything too serious, he liked to think that at least he had gained somewhat a bit of experience in relationships and knew this one had been a very happy one.

He did find slightly stressful dividing the time he had between his studies, his girlfriend, his pet and his friends but it didn’t matter.  
He was happy.  
After a lot of hours spent thinking about the Mirror of Erised and it’s reflection he had decided to ignore its meaning and simply do what he thought was best, which was continue living his life as normally as possible.

He noticed Harry had been acting very strangely around him the past few months and he couldn’t help but wonder if Kate was the reason for it.  
He had noticed the way Harry tensed up when she was brought up in conversations so he tried not to mention her as much as he could.

But the weirdness didn’t end there.

Harry had started bringing him gifts and praising him for everything he did, which frankly Draco found a bit suspicious.  
Gifts could be interpreted as a sign of guilt and the more expensive the gift the more guilty the person giving them felt.  
However he had no idea what Harry could have done that could anger/hurt Draco that much...  
Or maybe he just wanted to express how much Harry cared about him?  
Draco didn’t know. And he hated not knowing.

Today Harry had brought him a bouquet of tiny flowers tied with a beautiful mint green ribbon.

He appreciated it but couldn’t help but ask what was the occasion.

“Can’t a bloke give his friend a gift?” Harry asked as he grinned.

“Of course, but this is the second one this week and it’s only Thursday!” Draco said.

Harry shrugged.

“What did you do?” Draco asked his friend.

“What?” 

“In these few months you’ve been giving me an increasing amount of presents and praises, which I appreciate mind you, but why? Did you do something wrong towards me?”

Harry looked at him innocently.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I just feel like rewarding you! You’ve been so brave with all that you went through so I thought you deserved a few gifts” Harry said.

“Harry we passed the ‘a few’ mark about two months ago” Draco said. Harry smirked and the blond rolled his eyes.

“I promise I won’t get mad if you tell me what you did. I promise I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself” Draco compromised.

“That’s very noble of you, Draco, but I swear I didn’t do anything!” Harry said.

Draco raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, well I may have spilled Snoodle’s treats on the floor a few weeks ago but I cleaned everything up and replaced them! I promise you I have done nothing to warrant your anger or disappointment towards me in the past few months” Harry said.

Draco chuckled slightly.

“Snoodle would hate you forever if he knew how much you like to munch on his dried apples when he’s not looking” Draco said and Harry smiled.

“I’ll take my chances” Harry answered. Draco smiled at him and turned back to his book.

The two of them spent their remaining time together talking and studying, generally enjoying each other’s company.

Draco trusted Harry and knew his friend would never lie to him, so he let the matter of the gifts drop, although he did ask that Harry reduce drastically the quantity which he gave him.


	30. Chapter 30

Draco watched from his seat as his friend paced the whole length of the room.  
The third and last task of the Triwizard Tournament was in a few minutes and Cedric was close to panicking.

“Cedric calm down, you’ll be fine” Draco repeated. Cedric has been in this state since this morning and by now Draco was pretty desperate to get him to calm down.  
Being nervous only increased his chance of getting hurt and being distracted.

“I don’t feel ready, Draco...” the Hufflepuff said as he continued walking.

Sighing Draco got up and stopped his friend’s pacing by standing in front of him. He placed his hands on the taller boy’s shoulders and got him to look in his eyes.

“Cedric. Listen to me. Everything will be just fine. We’ve been preparing for months and I’m absolutely positive you can win this” Draco gently said.

“But what if I can’t? Everyone is counting on me to win-” 

Draco interrupted his friend; he knew where this conversation was going to end if he didn’t intervene. He could, though, understand why Cedric was so nervous: he was in first place by just a few points and Viktor Krum still could very likely win this competition.

“You just focus on the task and nothing else. You can do this, I know you can. Also, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, just make it out of there alive, alright?”

Cedric nodded.

“ALL CHAMPIONS PLEASE HEAD TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE MAZE” a loud magical voice sounded across the room.

“I’ll be in the stands, cheering for you. I’d say ‘good luck’ but I’m pretty sure that would be overkill” Draco smiled at his friend and left the tent they were in.

Cedric took a deep breath and headed out to meet the other champions.

————————————————————————————

Draco slowly headed to his Gryffindor friends and smiled back at Harry when the raven haired boy grinned brightly at him, a thing which he had started doing a lot around the Ravenclaw lately.

But before he could take the last few steps toward his friends, he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw that a cheery looking man with brown hair and glasses was smiling at him.

“Thank Merlin for your blond hair or I wouldn’t have recognized you. My son’s told me quite a lot about you, you know!” the man was slightly breathless, probably from rushing up the steps. Draco raised an eyebrow.

“Uhm... pardon me, Sir, but have met?” he asked as politely as possible. 

“Oh, where are my manners! I’m Amos Diggory, Cedric’s father” Mr. Diggory said and offered him his hand to shake.

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir. I’m-” 

“Draco. Of course, Cedric’s told me all about you, Draco. I want to thank you for helping my son: you’re the best friend he could possibly have in a time like this!” Mr. Diggory said and Draco blushed slightly.

“Come, my boy, let us sit together!” Mr. Diggory said loudly and gripped Draco by the shoulder, steering him towards the first stand.

Draco turned his head and smiled apologetically at Harry, who was looking like a kicked puppy at the moment.

“So, have you two boys planned something for today?” Mr. Diggory said as they sat down.

“Yes, Sir, we have: I modified a Disillusionment charm so it would make Cedric look like the things that are around him. For example, if he were to stand in front of a tree, he would look like its trunk and be textured and colored exactly like the bark. This way his only way of being noticed is if he makes too much noise, something picks up his scent or if his heat signature is detected. You mustn’t worry, however, we made a special potion to cover his scent so he only has to be careful about the other two things” Draco explained.

“Scent? Heat signature?” Mr. Diggory asked bewildered.

“Yes, well, we didn’t know for sure what type of perils he would find in there so we also considered the possibility of animals being used as obstacles. Anyway, better to be safe than sorry” Draco said.

“Quite right, my dear boy. And you modified the charm by yourself?”

Draco nodded.

“Yes, Sir. Cedric said I was better off if I tried to do this alone” 

“You’re a very talented wizard, Draco. Your parents must be very proud of you” Mr. Diggory said. Draco immediately saddened.  
It appeared Cedric hadn’t told everything about him to his father.

“I hope so, Sir” he said and watched as the champions took their places in front of the Maze.

“Let’s hope everything goes well and my son wins” Mr. Diggory said as he watched his son with a proud expression.

“I’ve no doubts about his talent, Sir, I’m mainly concerned about his health...” Draco trailed off and watched as the three champions entered the Maze and disappeared through the leaves, out of sight.

A beeping noise sounded from Draco’s wand; the blond turned it off with a quick flick.

He turned to his friend’s father and saw the curious look on his face.

“It signifies the charm has started working, so now Cedric basically is camouflaged as his surroundings” Draco said.

Mr. Diggory’s curiosity turned to shock.

“You cast the spell on him?” 

“Yes, Sir. Cedric said it was best that I cast it on him and to make sure the charm worked” Draco said.

“Very talented for a fourteen year old. I dare say you’ll be a very good wizard when you grow up” 

Draco blushed again.

————————————————————————————  
Meanwhile Cedric...

“Champions, today you’ll be facing the perils and obstacles of the Maze. In the center of it there is a cup, touch it and glory will be yours, but be careful: the Maze is insidious and you might just lose yourself” Dumbledore said.

As the three of them got into position to start, Cedric looked for Draco in the crowd and found his friend’s blond head in the very front row, sitting next to his father, Amos Diggory, and talking with him.

Cedric sighed.  
He should have known his father would want to speak with Draco: Cedric had mentioned his friend in his letters quite often.

“Champions! THREE-TWO-ONE- GO!” Barty Crouch said, his voice magically amplified by his wand.

Cedric immediately sprinted towards the Maze. Looking back he saw the tall bushes and vines wrap around each other and seal the road behind him.

Taking a deep breath he started walking making sure he made absolutely no noise in hope of not attracting too much attention on himself.


	31. Chapter 31

He was tired and dirty and he felt like he had been walking for a year but he didn’t stop.  
He couldn’t give up now.  
He had made his way deep into the maze by fighting all kind of creatures: a Boggart, a Sphinx and even a huge boar, to name a few.  
So far he had been lucky and he had only gotten a few bruises and cuts from his battles. 

As he stumbled through the seemingly infinite paths of the maze he froze when he caught sight of a giant terrifying beast hidden in the partial shadows and foggy mist of the ‘road’.

It looked like some sort of mutant crustacean eighty times bigger than normal crabs.  
It completely blocked Cedric’s way and unfortunately turning around he noticed the bushes had closed behind him.

He took his fighting stance and before attacking he remembered what Draco had said while they were training: “Remember: before you attack study your adversary, look for his weaknesses; don’t jump in a duel head first but analyze him and find out what his deal is”

He looked at the ‘crab’ and saw the way it held its four pincers close to its body, like they needed to be protected.  
He noticed the upper body was covered in a hard and rough looking deep red/brownish shell while the lower part was of a dirty beige and looked to be more smooth and tender. The pincers were of this same exact color except for the tips which were red/brown.

He also took note of where its eyes were positioned: on the very top of the head, surrounded by the shell.  
He mentally wrote that down as a weakness.

He immediately attacked when the creature went to make a move.  
Evidently it had somehow found out of his presence even with the charm Draco had put on him.  
He battled with it for hours, running through the maze as the high pitched shrieks of it followed him.  
He was badly hurt when that bloody thing managed to injure through his front and back, scraping the flesh with its sharp pincers.  
Even though blinding pain cursed though him, Cedric managed to take this chance and cast an ‘Avada Kedavra’ directly on its eyes, not only blinding it, but effectively killing it.

He collapsed on the the hard ground, exhausted and bleeding profoundly.  
He felt everything going dark before him and he was about to pass out from blood loss and pain when a distant blue shine caught his unfocused eyes.  
The shimmer was still there as he barely managed to drag himself towards it.  
It was a difficult process as his vision was blurry and he kept on cutting his hands in sharp rocks and twigs.

Finally the blue and white glow was directly in front of him and as he took one last final ‘step’ (more like crawl) he blindly reached out and grabbed the glowy object.  
He felt the world spin around him as he collapsed into nothingness.

————————————————————————————

‘Come on, Draco! You can’t give up!’ he thought as he focused all of his magic on his friend.

About two minutes ago the Cup had teleported Cedric in the center of the courtyard.  
Screams and cries filled the air as the people watching saw Cedric laying on the floor, bleeding and unconscious.

Immediately Draco and Mr. Diggory had rushed by his side.

“My boy! That’s MY BOY” Mr. Diggory had cried out as he grasped his son’s shoulders and turned him around.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were talking to the distressed man who thought his son was dead, trying to calm him down. Students were crying and shouting.

Draco ignored them all and took out his wand.  
He examined the Hufflepuff closely: he was in critical conditions.

He took a deep breath, this would be hard...  
He thanked Merlin he had studied healing spells.

He closed his eyes and with a gentle wand movement he started chanting in his mind over and over various healing spells: he started with the damaged organs and flesh and then moved onto the torn blood vessels. Since he couldn’t do anything about Cedric’s broken bones without a potion he simply cast a powerful numbing charm on him to help deal with the pain. Even though he was pretty sure his friend was unconscious, better safe than sorry.

He shook his head, his head going slightly dizzy.

He treated the many cuts and bruises his friend had and immediately healed them all.

Another wave of dizziness. He ignored it and kept on going.

He checked for vitals and found they had gotten slightly better.

He took another deep breath to try and clear his head, but to no avail. His left hand shook slightly.

‘You know what you have to do, Draco’ he thought to himself. He closed his eyes.

People around him were shouting, talking to him: Headmaster Dumbledore, Mr. Diggory, Professor McGonagall and Harry, who evidently had rushed to Cedric’s side when he saw him. Such a good person....Harry.

He tuned them all out and focused all of his magic, as much as he could muster. Slowly he felt the world start to spin around him as he internally chanted the required incantation; his hands shook, he felt weak, his mind soared but it didn’t matter. As the adrenaline pumped through him he opened his eyes and saw everything was going black around him.

As he gave his last burst of magic he felt his wand vibrate in worry in his hand as he panted.

Too weak to keep himself straight, he collapsed down on the grass and could only watch as the blurry faces of Sev and Harry came to view. He could tell their lips were moving but their voices were... distant, muffled.

Too tired to do anything else, his eyelids started to drop.

Everything went black.

————————————————————————————

“DRACO. DRACO OH MY GOD DRACO!” Harry said desperately as he shook the blond.

Both the Ravenclaw and the Hufflepuff were covered in blood and had passed out and Harry was panicking. Again.

“PROFESSOR DO SOMETHING. PLEASE!” he cried as he cradled Draco’s head in his lap and stroked his soft blond hair. He couldn’t smell Draco’s shampoo over the metallic scent of blood. He was hyperventilating.

No this couldn’t be happening. Not again.

He cursed Cedric Diggory for always putting his Draco in such danger.

“Potter, quick! Step aside!” Madam Pomfrey said as rushed over to the two unconscious students.

Harry moved away slightly, knowing this would help Draco, but still he held the blond’s hand in his tightly as the mediwitch worked.

He looked around pointlessly trying to ease his nerves and noticed the crowd had gone completely silent and the only noises that could he heard were the ones of Madam Pomfrey who talked as she worked on Draco and Cedric.

“How are they, Poppy?” Professor McGonagall asked worriedly as she stood there on the side next to Professor Dumbledore.

Snape was still crouched next to his godson.

“Cedric owes his life to this brave young man” Madam Pomfrey sighed as she finally patched up Cedric’s last two wounds. 

Everyone stayed silent. Shocked.

“Draco did a very thorough job with healing his external and internal wounds: I’m very impressed. But it’s what he did lastly that saved Mr. Diggory”

Harry looked up behind him and saw McGonagall and Dumbledore were looking down at Draco, their gazed focused on his left hand, which was still grasping his wand tightly. The tip of the wand instead of being the usual white was stained a crimson red and it had red streaks running down it.

“He performed a type of highly difficult healing magic. He transferred some of his own magical blood to Mr. Diggory, to keep him alive” Dumbledore muttered.

“Yes, blood types are all different within us wizards, that’s why we use blood replenishing potions, which ‘multiply’ our own blood, as our blood is unable to accept transfusions form others, unlike Muggles. In this case Draco knew Cedric was way past the Blood Replenishing Potion standards for the potion to work in time for Cedric to actually digest it, so he did something which is as brave as it is difficult: he temporarily transferred some of his own blood to Mr. Diggory, to sustain him until Mr. Diggory’s body has enough blood to work on its own. Very few have tried this method to save a life and even fewer have been successful” Madam Pomfrey said.

There were a few shocked gasps in the crowd, which listened eagerly to the conversation.

“You should be very proud of this one” Madam Pomfrey said as she waved her wand and the two limp bodies were lifted into some floating stretchers.

“Wait! What about Draco! ! Will he be alright?” Harry asked, not even noticing he hadn’t even pretended to be worried about the Hufflepuff, as he followed the mediwitch down the short way that led from the maze to the Hogwarts corridors.

“We can’t know for sure now, Mr. Potter. Cedric’s life now is in Mr. Malfoy’s hands” the matron said as she went through the Hospital Wing’s doors. He was left alone in the corridor, worried out of his mind for Draco.

The image of his bloodied friend being carried in a stretcher, holding his wand tightly even if he was unconscious burned through his mind.


	32. Chapter 32

Harry stayed by Draco’s side night and day, holding his hand, whispering in his ear sweet nothings. All of this, of course, when bloody Kate wasn’t there with him, doing the same exact things.

The girl hadn’t been present to the last task because she had unfortunately come down with a bit of a cold and had preferred to stay inside instead of waiting outside for hours for the champions to arrive.

She had just been healed when they brought Draco and Cedric in the Hospital Wing and had been like a leech ever since.  
She too rarely left the Hospital Wing and preferred to be with her boyfriend, only she got to care for him publicly while he had to do it when he was sure no one was watching.

A lot of students and professors had come in and left flowers and well wishes and their gratitude to Draco for saving Cedric.

Harry missed his Draco. He missed the brightness in his eyes, his smile, his voice.  
He missed... everything about him.

A clock ticking.  
Seconds, minutes, hours, days.

Draco still hadn’t woken up. Cedric at least had showed signs that he was waking up lately but Harry didn’t care.  
Cedric didn’t matter. All that mattered was Draco, who was still unconscious.

One night, four days after the Third Task, Harry snuck out from Gryffindor Tower with his Invisibility Cloak his dad had secretly given him just to check on Draco.

He sat down by the Ravenclaw’s bedside and watched him ‘sleep’: he was... beautiful. Breathtaking. Even now, after all that had happened.  
His fair skin glowed even paler in the moonlight, his soft blond hair spread out slightly where his head rested on the pillow.

Harry brushed back a stray strand of hair and leaned down to kiss Draco gently on the forehead. He breathed in Draco’s familiar scent and sighed in content.

Draco remained unmoving.

“I need you to wake up, Draco. Please. I can’t — I can’t live in a world where you’re....” Harry whispered as he took Draco’s hand in his. He wasn’t sure Draco would be able to hear him while he slept, but he talked anyway. He had to tell Draco eventually about his feelings.

“Please, baby. I need you” he pleaded as he watched the comatose boy in front of him.

“I-I think I love you”


	33. Chapter 33

One month later...

“Here, I brought you your medicine, son” James said as he gently sat down next to Draco’s bed and placed four different sets of potions and two pills on the bedside table.  
He took a cloth and wet it in some cold water before gently pressing it to Draco’s forehead.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hurts...” came the weak answer from the person laying in the bed. The voice was wracked with pain...

The boy had woken up only two days before and was in a very unstable condition: his magic was drained from sustaining Cedric and this had taken a toll on his already weak health.

His healers said it would be a slow recovery and that it would take time for his magic to fully recover.

His whole body ached and he couldn’t even manage to get out of bed without help.

He felt useless.

As James helped him sit up and take his medicine, he felt tears pricking his eyes.

He fought hard to keep them in but his eyes wouldn’t cooperate anymore. 

He felt the first two hot tears make their way down his cheeks.

“Oh, my boy...” James said when he realized Draco was crying.

He hugged his son.  
Draco buried his head in James’ chest and cried, letting out all his frustrations.

“W-Why is it-t always m-me” he sobbed and James sighed and simply patted his son’s back. 

He could understand the stress: first the years of abuse, then the eating disorder, the Second Task and then going in a magical coma for a month. As if the poor thing hadn’t gone through enough.

“I-I r-really want-ted to-to help C-Cedric but-but-“ 

“Shhh, I know... I know... it’s hard to accept...” James said. Honestly he had expected Draco to break a long time ago and he was surprised his son had held strong this much time.

A little bump started moving under the covers until Snoodle emerged and cuddled next to him, providing support and emotional comfort. The bunny had been with Draco basically everyday while the blond ‘slept’.  
Plp

Another person who had constantly been by Draco’s bedside was Harry.

The Gryffindor, hoping it would help Draco wake up, had talked to him almost none stop about anything and everything; and when Draco finally woke up he wouldn’t leave his side and insisted on helping him recover as smoothly as possible.

Unfortunately for the brunette, Draco had heard absolutely nothing during his prolonged sleep and didn’t remember anything since the Third Task.

Draco himself was living in a daze: the fact he had lost one month of his life had only just dawned on him and he was trying to accept it.  
Cedric had won the Triwizard Tournament and had officially declared Draco the reason for his victory.  
The blond had been receiving loads of fan mail in which people thanked him and praised him for his actions.  
Draco burned them all without opening them.  
He didn’t do it because he wanted people to praise his good action.  
He did it because his friend needed him.

He also had to accept the fact that Kate was gone too.  
She had been forced to leave for Beauxbatons when the tournament had ended, before Draco could wake up, and hadn’t been able to return to England because of her parents.  
He missed his girlfriend and he was very disappointed by the fact that they hadn’t managed a proper goodbye and hadn’t gotten any closure of sorts.  
He knew their relationship had been doomed to end sometime because of the distance but he had least expected a mutual break up that ended in a friendly manner.

Draco had also been having trouble sleeping and his insomnia had also been fueled by the emptiness he felt without his wand, which had been sealed away from Draco, whose magic couldn’t handle anything magic at all without getting dangerously unstable.  
The blond’s core was thoroughly damaged and needed to heal on its own.  
Unfortunately that meant sleeping and pain potions/pills until he could manage without them.

When he stopped crying, James left him so he could take his medicine in peace. He laid back in bed: his potions soon did their job and helped him fall asleep as easily as possible.

————————————————————————————

Eventually things got better: Draco was still healing but at least he could move around slowly and study enough to catch up.

Currently he and Harry were in the living room, studying Astronomy. Snoodle was on Draco’s chest as the blond laid on the couch, book in his left hand while the right stroked his bunny’s soft fur.

Harry was on the other couch as he continuously shifted his attention from his book to the very much attractive blond.

Draco had grown a bit but his slender figure still remained small and fragile, perfect for Harry to encase with his own body and protect him from any harm.  
He studied closely Draco’s hands.  
The fingers were slender and slightly bony, but not in an unattractive way. The nails were perfectly clean and kept on the short side.  
On the right hand’s fourth finger he wore the Malfoy signet ring while his left was left plain.  
What Harry would have payed to be Snoodle in that moment as Draco ran his fingers through the black fur. Harry imagined them combing through his hair and a shiver of pleasure went down his spine.  
He sighed in content and closed his eyes as he titled his head up.

After what felt like hours he finally opened his eyes again and looked at a now sleeping Draco.  
The book had fallen open on his stomach as he slept.  
Harry made sure he didn’t make any noise at all, knowing how Draco barely managed any rest lately.  
The healers has been forced to reduce his dosage in sleeping potions to prevent him from developing an addiction to them. Unfortunately though this meant nightmares and sleepless nights for Draco.

Harry closed his book and put it on the table as he got up and stretched.

He walked over to Draco and looked down at him lovingly.  
He looked so peaceful and calm.  
An ethereal figure.

He noticed the way Draco’s body was placed uncomfortably on the sofa so he decided to carry the blond to his bed.

He put away the book and moved Snoodle from his sleeping position on Draco’s chest (earning himself a little sniff and yawn in protest as the rabbit hopped over to a pillow and went back to sleep).

He snaked his hands under Draco’s form, feeling his lithe and frail physique through his clothes and gently lifted him up. He was as light as a feather.

Harry, not wanting to think about Draco’s eating disorder (which had fallen as a secondary problem in light of his coma), slowly made his way up the stairs to Draco’s room.

Draco’s head lolled to the side onto Harry’s chest. The Gryffindor tried to force his heart to beat at a normal pace but failed as the traitorous organ sped up.

As he made it to the ‘Grey Room’ as Harry jokingly referred to his friend’s bedroom, he laid Draco down on the bed.  
Immediately the blond snuggled into a pillow and breathed out soundly.

Harry quietly rushed back downstairs and grabbed Snoodle, who protested once again this time by lowering his ears and making a little cry; he knew Draco would want to have his beloved pet with him when he woke up.

As he set the bunny on the bed, it immediately hopped over to Draco and settled in the crook of his neck.

For the second time in an hour, Harry envied a rabbit, for it could have what Harry so desperately wanted but couldn’t.

Or could he?

Making his decision, he slowly laid down next to Draco, being extra careful not to touch him in case he woke him up. He settled on the pillow and waited with his breath caught in his lungs.

When the blond didn’t stir in the slightest, he relaxed and closed his eyes.

Soon he was in a deep and peaceful asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

When Harry woke up it was already morning.  
Birds chirped as the sun rose in the sky.  
He groggily yawned when suddenly he became aware of the heat coming from the body laying next to him and immediately opened his eyes.

Draco was sleeping next to him with his head on Harry’s chest, snuggled up against the Gryffindor’s side.

He looked so content. Harry didn’t have the heart to wake him yet.  
Instead he watched as the blond inhaled and exhaled slowly, his eyelashes falling on his cheek. He looked at the blond strands of hair falling on Draco’s forehead and gently pushed them back as best as he could.

He smiled. He could stay like this forever. 

After about ten minutes there was a soft knock on the door and the handle turned.

Lily’s head popped through and she blushed slightly when she saw how intimately they were laying.

“Draco needs to take his medicine and this little fella needs to eat” she whispered as she entered and placed the potions and pills on the nightstand.  
She then picked up Snoodle and cradled him in her hand. Since Draco wasn’t able to look after him, Lily and James had been looking after the bunny.

“You should tell him how you feel” she winked and left the room.

Harry blushed. He had never been more embarrassed in his life.

He shook his head.

“Pss... love...” he whispered in Draco’s ear, not realizing he had called him ‘love’.

“Mhh...” Draco muttered as he breathed loudly and snuggled more into Harry.

Harry’s heart swelled in his chest.

“Love...” he whispered again and gently blew on Draco’s face.

Draco sighed softly and opened his eyes.

Molten silver met vibrant green.

Harry smiled sheepishly. 

“Hey” he said.

Draco yawned.

Harry watched as the blond’s pale features immediately reddened and his eyes widened as he realized how intimately they were laying together.

Draco made to move away but instead he let out a cry of pain as he cradled his arms around his stomach and abdomen.  
He had moved a bit too fast.

“Shit! Merlin, here take these!” Harry hastily scrambled off the bed and handed Draco all of his potions in a slight panic. 

The Ravenclaw mumbled something as he took the pills and drank the potions with them.

“I didn’t hear that...” Harry said as he leaned closer to Draco a bit.

“Language...” he heard him say. He smiled at him.

“You gave me a fright” Harry said.

Draco closed his eyes and didn’t answer.

The raven-haired boy straightened his glasses and laid down next to Draco again, making sure to keep some distance between them.

“Where’s Snoodle?” Draco suddenly asked after a few minutes.

“He’s having breakfast with Mum” 

Draco nodded and returned to staring at the ceiling.

“So...uhm... what do you want to do today?” Harry asked.

He didn’t want to address their sleeping position just yet so he figured he might as well distract his Draco.

(Harry couldn’t remember when he had started referring to the blond as ‘his’ but he found it felt right to call him that)

Draco looked at him blankly and Harry mentally slapped himself.

There weren’t many things Draco could actually do except for reading or playing chess.

“I wanted to finish reading ‘Crime and Punishment’...” Draco said quietly.  
Harry nodded, disappointed at the prospect of not spending more time with his friend, who probably noticed his sudden change of mood.

“Actually, why don’t we go flying?” 

Harry gaped at him. Draco had never asked him to go flying.

“Well, actually, you can fly while I watch you...?” Draco was blushing slightly.

He grinned.

I’ll go grab my broom! Can you manage to get outside by yourself?”

Draco nodded:

“Yeah, I feel better now with my potions” he said as he slowly got up and shuffled towards the corridor.

Harry rushed to his room in excitement and ran outside.

Draco had settled on a picnic blanket with his book and Snoodle sitting on his lap.

He smiled as he rose up in the air and started performing some tricks he knew to hopefully amuse and impress his crush.

He glanced down and saw Draco was smiling at him.

Harry felt like he could do anything now as long as Draco was with him. 

As he watched the blond boy from the sky he realized that this was his chance to finally be with Draco now that Kate was out of the way.


	35. Chapter 35

A few weeks passed and soon it was time to go back to Hogwarts.

Draco felt nervous: people surely would talk about his ‘brave and selfless’ action.  
Some of the reason why the rumors hadn’t died out was Rita bloody Skeeter, who had wrote a few articles about the Triwizard Tournament over the course of the summer.  
She claimed Draco was a genius/hero who saved Cedric’s life by almost sacrificing his own.

It was partly true: he did save Cedric’s life but he certainly wasn’t brave and he was no genius. Also, Draco thought people liked to esagerate about risking his own life; sure, he had been in a bad state after the whole ordeal but he hardly considered that as difficult as what Cedric had went through.

The last thing he wanted was for Cedric to blame him for stealing all his glory or something because he really didn’t mean to and hated being in the spotlight.

Of course the Hufflepuff was too kind and often praised Draco, not only when they were with other people, but even in the letters they wrote each other. Cedric made sure to always thank him.

Draco just hoped all the drama was soon going to be forgotten so he could go back to being invisible again.

He had been feeling a lot better lately: his health had almost completely healed in the past month and a half and generally he felt normal for once.

Of course his eating disorder was still a bit of a problem for him but he could deal with it in time. As for now he had achieved two meals a day which was a great thing. His therapist was really happy with him and even his healers saw him healthier overall even after all that had happened.

————————————————————————————

Currently he was in his room, packing his trunk for tomorrow as he and Harry would go back to Hogwarts for their Fifth Year. He had already started reading their textbooks and he couldn’t wait until classes started. 

A tapping noise from outside the window distracted him.  
He turned his head and saw a brown owl he didn’t recognize was knocking on his window.

He frowned slightly and opened the window; the owl stuck out its leg and waited for Draco to take the letter attached to it.

When he did, the owl hooted and flew away.

‘That’s odd...’ he thought as he glanced down at the letter.

The cream colored paper had two words written on it: Draco Malfoy.

Draco recognized the handwriting instantly..

‘Kate...’ he though as he held his breath and opened the letter.

Yes, it was indeed from his ex girlfriend.

‘Hi Draco,  
It’s been a while and I just wanted to see how you were doing.  
I don’t even know if you’re awake yet so I’m just writing this in the hopes you will receive it and if you don’t, that a family member will give it to you when you wake up.  
I miss you a lot and I think about you almost every day, wondering if you’re alright, if you’re mad at me for leaving you during such a moment.  
I’m so sorry we didn’t get to say a proper goodbye and I feel so guilty, but I swear if I could’ve stayed by your side I would have.  
Unfortunately I couldn’t, hence this letter.  
I also wanted to thank you: you were the best boyfriend I could ever have hoped for. You’re kind, funny, sweet, witty and smart! Any girl would be lucky to have you and I’m honored you picked me out of all the possible girls (or boys ;), we both know what I mean).  
You’ll always be in my heart.  
I really hope you’re awake so you can read this.  
With infinite love,  
Kate’

Draco smiled as he read the letter.

Quickly he penned an answer.

‘Dear Kate,  
I’m glad you wrote. I miss you too and I wish you were here with me.  
I woke up about a month ago and I’m feeling a bit better.  
I’m sorry it ended the way it did but I just wanted to say I’ll always have a place for you in my heart and I won’t forget the time we had together.  
Love,  
Draco’ 

He watched the owl fly away.

————————————————————————————

Months flied past him as his health returned.  
He had even made a lot of progress with his eating disorder and his therapist said he would be completely healed in about a year if he kept on going like he was now. This things took time anyway...

He still wrote to Kate at least once a month as he valued their friendship. He was happy they had agreed to remain friends after their ‘breakup’.

Speaking of friends, Harry had been a source of constant affection towards him and Draco couldn’t be more grateful.  
Cedric had been great as well and the two of them spent as much time as they could together as this was Cedric’s last year at Hogwarts.

Although Draco would sorely miss the Hufflepuff, he was happy for him.

During this months he divided his time between his studies, Snoodle, Harry, Cedric and his other friends.

People still whispered and stared at him when he passed by them in the corridors but he had learnt to just ignore them.

What he certainly couldn’t ignore were the girls who were practically throwing themselves at him. 

‘Draco, you’re so brave!’, ‘You’re so cute!’, ‘Marry me!’ some of them would call when he passed them through the corridors and he had to do everything in his power not to blush.  
He wasn’t good at dealing with admirers like Cedric...

Also, he couldn’t help but ask himself: did he even like girls?

People had called him ‘gay’ loads of times before and he never had been too affected by the word itself, even when it was used as an insult.  
Yes, he had been with Kate but come to think about it he had never been attracted to her sexually. He loved her personality but didn’t feel the actual need to do anything intimate with her. They held hands, cuddled and kissed but that was just about it.  
He hadn’t given it much thought before when he would notice a hot guy’s butt.  
Unfortunately now the only thing he could think about was his sexuality.  
Was he Heterosexual? Homosexual? Bisexual?

Draco didn’t know. He hated not knowing.

He figured he couldn’t do this the logical way. He needed field experience.

“Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Doyoufindthatguycute?” he rushed out the words as he blushed a deep shade of scarlet.

He and Harry were sitting in the Library, revising for their final exams as Draco hoped to get high marks in all of the subjects. Fifth Year had really flown by...

“What?” 

“Do you find that guy... cute?” he repeated as he nodded to a brown haired Slytherin boy who was sitting at a table near theirs.

Harry visibly blanched.

“Why-Why?! Do you find him cute!?” he said as he started breathing fast. 

“Ehm... kind of? I mean he’s... he’s...” Draco was slightly attracted to him and had to admit he was fairly good looking.

“That-That!?” Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

His. Draco. Asking. Him. About. A. Hot. Boy.

Draco blushed and Harry felt jealousy building up in his chest. He glanced at the Slytherin.

He didn’t see why Draco liked that boy; he was far better than him. If only Draco saw that...

Still a little bit of hope remained in his chest.

“Wait. Does that mean you’re... gay?” he asked.

Draco smiled sheepishly.

“I don’t know... maybe? I-I don’t really know what I’m feeling...” he blushed more and Harry felt like he had died and gone to Heaven.

Draco was absolutely adorable when he blushed.

“I mean... I think I like men but I also think I like girls...” Draco added.

“That’s fine. You can like both!” he said.

“I know it’s fine, I just-I-I’m not sure yet...” he muttered.

An idea came to Harry’s mind.

“I’ll help you”

“Sorry-What?”

“I’ll help you figure out whether you’re straight, gay or bi” he said.

“Really? You would do that for me?”

“Of course I would” Harry smiled.

Draco got up and hugged his friend tightly.

“Thank you..” he whispered in Harry’s ear, making a shiver go down his spine.

If only he knew...


	36. Chapter 36

“So... uhm... we could... maybe... look at some attractive boys... and see if I’m... gay?” Draco mumbled shyly.

Immediately a little alarm went off in Harry’s head. 

‘The goal is to help Draco understand his sexuality but not make him fall for anyone else’ the voice in his head said and Harry found himself agreeing with it.

“I was thinking that maybe... you and I could... you know...” he said.

“But won’t it become weird?”

“Only if you let it” 

“O-Okay... then... uhm where do we start?”

This was his opportunity. He’d make sure he took it.

“Well, we could start slow, maybe hold hands” he said as he grabbed Draco’s right hand and encased it with his own.  
He was surprised at how perfect it felt as their fingers entwined. Harry could feel the Malfoy signet ring as he pulled Draco a bit closer to him, enough to smell the cologne Draco used.

It had been a gift from Snape for Christmas and Harry couldn’t help but thank the man as the scent was so... Draco. The subtle smell he had come to associate with the blond was of vanilla paired with something else... something only Draco smelled like. Unfortunately Harry had never been able to pinpoint what the scent was...

“Your hand is cold...” Harry said. 

“Sorry...” Draco mumbled.

“No, don’t apologize. I like it better this way” he said and it was true. Draco smiled.

“Do you feel... anything?”

“I’m not really sure... I think so? I mean - Kate and I used to hold hands so...” 

At the mention of Draco’s ex, jealousy flared up in Harry’s chest.

“Yes, but I’m not Kate, Draco” he said trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.  
Evidently he must have failed since Draco looked at him warily.

“If this is too weird for you we can-” he said as he removed his hand from Harry’s.

“No! No, it’s not weird at all. Sorry... just please don’t bring up Kate again. Ok?” he asked.

Draco frowned slightly.

“I always had a feeling you didn’t like her. Why not?” Draco asked.

‘Because! You’re meant to be with me!’ the voice screamed in his head. He ignored it; after all, he didn’t want to scare him away.

“Because. She wasn’t right for you” he said as he took Draco’s hand again.

Draco raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

“Once you get comfortable with holding hands, we can move on to what you like in men” Harry said, changing the subject.

Draco nodded.

————————————————————————————

Harry and Draco were sitting on a picnic blanket by the Black Lake, enjoying the fresh air. As Harry polished his broom, Draco couldn’t help but look at his friend in a different way for the first time.

He admitted he was attractive. Draco liked his expressive and vibrant green eyes and... and his smile, it was comforting.  
His black hair was a mess, as always, but Draco found he actually liked it better that way. 

He asked himself whether it was okay for him to like Harry. For all he knew, Harry was straight. Sure, he seemed fine with homosexuality, but would he react differently if Draco told him he had developed a minor crush on him?  
Draco pinpointed this to the fact the two of them had been spending an awful lot of time together, not only talking about Draco’s sexuality but also hanging out and having fun.

“Draco?” he became aware of Harry’s voice calling him as he emerged from his thoughts.

“Yeah?” he mumbled.

“You’ve been staring at that page for ten minutes” Harry said as he pointed to the book that lay abandoned in Draco’s lap.

“Sorry” he didn’t know what to say. He certainly couldn’t explain of how he had been musing on his little crush.

“Don’t apologize. You’ve been studying your ass off for the last few months. You’re allowed to get distracted by my amazingness ” Harry chuckled.

Draco frowned at Harry’s language but couldn’t stop the corner of his lips from turning up a little. If only Harry knew...

“Oh come on! Where’s THE smile I’ve been used to seeing every time I crack a joke?” Harry teased.

Draco’s smile turned brighter despite of what he said next.

“Sorry to say but if that was a joke, it kinda sucked” he said.

Harry faked being hurt as he dramatically placed a hand on his chest and one on his forehead as he turned his body away from Draco and gasped theatrically.

“Oh, how you hurt me! I shall never speak to you again!” he said/laughed. Draco rolled his eyes. He was glad their ‘sexuality lessons’, as he had started to call them, hadn’t made their friendship awkward.

“Stop it you drama queen” he said. Unfortunately affection creeped in his voice and Harry grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

“But you hurt my feelings! I require you apologize and be my personal butler for the week: at my beck and call 24/7!” Harry said while laughing, letting Draco know he wasn’t serious.

“Whatever you say, your Highness” Draco chuckled as Harry shook his head while laughing and returned to polishing his broom.

Draco let his eyes linger on the other boy.

His heart sped up slightly.

It was then only then he realized... he had a full-on crush on his friend...


	37. Chapter 37

At least now he knew he was gay.  
That was a good thing... right?  
He figured this crush would go away in time.  
Well he was WRONG. If only it got even stronger.

Here he was, at the age of sixteen, fangirling over a boy. 

He had spoken with Cedric about this and the Hufflepuff just said: “We can’t choose who we love”  
Very helpful...  
Also, ‘love’? Who said anything about love?  
He certainly hadn’t. He didn’t love Harry.

‘Not yet’ the annoying voice in his head added.

Draco wanted to bang his head against a wall.  
He couldn’t stop thinking about this not-so-little problem and he was going mad.

Should he tell Harry and jeopardize their friendship? Should he keep this to himself and do nothing about it?

Too many unanswered questions!

He had considered writing to Kate about this but he felt they weren’t close enough to discuss such a personal matter. Sure she was his friend and they had been together, but he had never told her about his life ‘before’ and had never intended to. 

‘Potter isn’t gay. He won’t want you’ the voice, this time sounding an awful lot like his father, spoke in his mind. 

He locked away such thoughts. He didn’t need this from his own mind, especially right now. His parents were in Azkaban.  
They guards had locked them in a black cell and thrown away the key.  
Besides, he wasn’t a broken little boy anymore. Harry would-

‘He’s not your knight in shining armor!’ the voice interrupted his thoughts.

He groaned out loud and smacked his head against a pillow.

He started pacing the length of his dorm room as he thought about what he could do regarding his issue. Snoodle watched him from his bed.

Was it wise to do this now? It was the start of his Sixth Year: he couldn’t spend his days pining on Harry. Cedric wasn’t there with him and he didn’t feel close enough with his Ravenclaw friends to confide in them.  
He also didn’t want to involve his parents or Sev in this as it would be too awkward.  
That left his Gryffindor friends.  
He narrowed his possibilities down between Hermione and Lavender.

In the end, he chose Hermione as he felt he could trust her. Not that he didn’t trust Lavender, it was just the other girl was a bit of a gossip and was known for accidentally spilling secrets.

He took a deep breath as he walked outside the Fat Lady’s portrait.

He stopped and looked at the woman in the portrait in front of him.

‘Its rude for people to refer to her as ‘Fat Lady’, as if being fat was her biggest achievement in her entire life’ he thought to himself.

“I agree, my dear, but I’m afraid students and professors have grown quite used to calling me that by now. Thank you anyway, you’re very sweet” she smiled at him.

He froze. Did she read his thoughts?

“Yes, dear, I did. It’s quite useful if you don’t want visitors to know the password to your dormitory. All house portraits have this ability, but of course, being a Ravenclaw you wouldn’t know that since you ravens have a knocker who asks clever questions instead of a portrait” she said.

Draco nodded, still slightly astonished. 

“So what can I help you with, sweet boy?” she asked him as she batted her eyelashes at him. 

“Uhm... I’m looking for Hermione Granger...” he said.

The woman nodded.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you in without the password, my dear boy” she said.

“Oh, uhm, actually the password is ‘Caput Draconis’... right? Well, anyway, it’s fine I’ll just wait out here” he said. The lady (he refused to call her ‘fat’) nodded and walked away from the portrait, probably to go find Hermione.  
By the way, he could tell by her reaction that he had gotten the password right.

A few minutes later the portrait swung open as Hermione exited the Gryffindor Common Room.

“Here you are, dear!” the lady said as she smiled brightly at him.

He returned the smile and thanked her.

“Hey Draco!” Hermione said as the two of them started walking around the corridors without a precise heading.

“Sorry I bothered you, Hermione, but I really need someone I can trust to confide in” he said.

“It’s fine, Draco. Pardon me if I seem rude but why ask me? I thought Harry would be your first choice” she said.

“Yeah... uhm... Harry, or anyone else for that matter, can’t know what I’m going to say to you today. Okay?” he asked.  
She looked like she wanted to protest.

“Please?” he pleaded. She looked at him for a moment and nodded.

“Alright. I promise I won’t tell anyone what we talk about today” she said. 

He nodded and took a deep breath to calm down his nerves a little bit.

‘Here goes nothing...’ he thought.

“I’m gay” he said.

“Okay. That’s absolutely fin-”

“I have a crush on Harry” he suddenly blurted out, interrupting her mid sentence. He covered his mouth with his hand and fought the urge to blush a deep crimson.

Hermione could barely contain the excitement she was feeling internally from showing externally.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, no... I just- Am I crazy for liking him?”

“Of course not! Why would you think that?”

“Well, shouldn’t it feel weird? I mean, technically if his parents adopted me we could be brothers”

“Only you’re not brothers so I don’t see the problem here”

“I guess so... unfortunately he’s heterosexual and probably won’t notice me in a romantic way. We work great as friends but I don’t think he’ll ever see me as anything more” he said quietly.

“You should tell him” she said after a few minutes passed in silence.

“No way” 

“But you’d-”

“Nuh-huh absolutely not. He’ll get awkward around me” he said.

“Never say never, Draco” she smiled knowingly.


	38. Chapter 38

“Have you guys seen Draco anywhere?” 

“He’ll probably be in the Library studying his ass off or something” Ron muttered, not looking up from his Quidditch magazine.

“Ron! There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be prepared! Final exams are in two days!” Hermione exclaimed.

Ron rolled his eyes.

Harry nodded and ran down to the Library immediately. He couldn’t stand being away from Draco for more than two days: the blond had been far too busy lately.

He quickly located him as he was seated at his favorite spot in Library: a window seat with a few big comfy chairs and a little table.

“Hey!” he said as he dropped into one of the chairs (the one nearest to Draco, casually).

Draco looked up from his book and smiled, his eyes lighting up. Harry’s heart sped up in his chest.

“Hi” he said softly.

“So... I was wondering whether you wanted to do something with me today... you know, take a break?” he asked hopefully.

“Oh... uhm... I’m not sure...” 

“Please?” Harry asked with his ‘puppy dog’ eyes. 

“I guess I could take a break for a while...” Draco muttered as he marked the page he was on and closed his Artimancy book. 

“What did you have in mind?” Draco asked as he collected all of his stuff and got up.

“A nice walk by the lake. Is that okay?” 

“It sounds perfect!” Draco smiled as the two made their way to the Black Lake.

“It’s so nice outside...” Draco whispered as he breathed in the fresh air and closed his eyes.

As they were walking their hands brushed against each other. Electric waves sent off from their fingers as they quickly pulled their hands away.

Draco blushed.

“What do you plan on doing after we graduate?” he asked, trying to start a conversation.

“Draco, we’re only in Sixth Year!” Harry exclaimed.

“I know. But don’t you at least have an idea about what you want to do?” 

Harry thought for a moment and eventually answered.

“I’d like to work as an Auror, just like Dad” he said. Draco smiled. “How about you?”

“I’m not sure yet... my father’s company deals with land ownerships and investments, so maybe I should become a business man?” 

“What do you want to be?” Harry asked as the two sat down on a large flat stone by the lake.

“I like potions a lot and Severus said there are quite a few ways to get involved with the potions industry: teaching, working for the Ministry, researching”

“That sounds great! You’re the best at potions!” Harry said.

Draco nodded absentmindedly.

“Yeah... but I’m not sure yet...for now I’ll just stick to my family business” Draco said quietly.

Harry noticed his crush was feeling a bit off so he placed his hand on Draco’s and gently entwined his fingers with his.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll excel in whatever profession you chose” he said softly.

Draco smiled.

“Thanks, Harry. For everything” he said. He didn’t remove his hand.


	39. Chapter 39

As Seventh Year began Draco was happy yet nervous to be back.  
This was his last year at Hogwarts before he would be out in the world.  
Was he ready?  
Would he be able to survive?

He thought about all this as he sat in the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast.

As the Sorting Ceremony ended, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up to give his speech.

“Welcome back everyone to another year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As always the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students. This year’s Head Girl and Head Boy are: Elizabeth Swart and Draco Malfoy!”

Loud cheers and applauses sounded in the Great Hall.

Draco sat there silently as people patted him on the back and congratulated him.

He was... Head Boy? Oh Merlin! He absolutely wasn’t ready to have such a responsibility!  
He sat there in his seat, frozen, as Professor Dumbledore finished his speech.

As the feast began he still hadn’t actually registered what that entailed.

“Will the Head Boy and Head Girl please head to the Headmaster’s office after dinner?” a voice called from his far right.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.  
He had no idea who this ‘Elizabeth Swart’ was; hopefully she was pleasant to work with.

————————————————————————————— 

He took a deep breath as he prepared to knock on the Headmaster’s door. 

“Hold it!” a girl’s voice called from behind him, so he turned around and saw a girl was running towards him. She had shoulder length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes as well. A few freckles decorated her otherwise pale face. She smiled sweetly at him.

“Hi! I’m Elizabeth but you can call me ‘Liz’ or ‘Lizzie’!” she said cheerily as she introduced herself. Her eyes shined brightly.

“Hey! I’m Draco” he said.

“I know” she smiled again.

Draco simply nodded with a tight smile.

‘Please don’t let her be one of my fans...’ he thought to himself.

He looked at her and saw she was a Slytherin. 

“Isn’t it great!? WE get to be Head Students!” she said excitedly. He smiled at her.

“Yeah! I’m having a hard time coming to therms with it” he said. 

She was about to say something when the door opened.

“Ah, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Swart. Please, do come in” Dumbledore said with the usual twinkle in his eyes.

Draco quickly entered the office and took a seat in front of the Headmaster’s desk, right next to Elizabeth.

“As you’re well aware, being Head Boy and Head Girl comes with responsibilities such as patrolling corridors at night, removing house points should anyone disobey the rules, giving a good example and planning all extra curricular activities. I’m sure you two will do a fine job with your intelligence and ambition”

“Yes, Headmaster” Draco said obediently as the Professor kept on explaining to them exactly what they had been chosen for.


	40. Chapter 40

“CONGRATULATIONS!!” his friends screamed as he left the Headmaster’s office with Elizabeth. 

“Thanks” he said as he blushed, not liking the attention on him.

“You’re going to be the best Head Boy ever!” Harry said as he hugged Draco.

He smiled at the warm feeling he felt in his chest and was about to say something but Lavender beat him to it.

“How about we celebrate in our Common Room?” Lavender proposed.  
Everyone agreed.

“I’ll meet you there. I have to discuss something with Elizabeth here but I’ll join you in a few minutes alright?” his friends all nodded except for Harry, who was busy glaring at the girl standing a few steps behind Draco, looking at the blond boy as if he were a piece of cake. 

Harry’s instincts were screaming at him to mark the blond as his. ‘Back off! He’s MINE and ONLY MINE!’. However he didn’t think Draco would appreciate it if he did so, so he simply remained behind and waited behind the corner as everyone headed to Gryffindor Tower. He tried to listen to what the two were talking about but they were too far away. He carefully leaned out a bit and glanced at them from behind the wall.

Draco was smiling as he normally did while that Slytherin girl was looking at his Draco with a predatory look on her face. Draco, of course, didn’t notice this and simply went on as if nothing was wrong.

Harry didn’t like her one bit.  
He was reminded of Kate once more, only this time he wouldn’t let Draco go so easily.

————————————————————————————— 

“Let’s plan a ball!” Elizabeth said. They were working together on the Prefects’ patrol schedule in the Head Students’ office and had just finished organizing everything.

Draco raised his head to look at her.

“A ball? What for?” 

“Oh I don’t know!? Christmas?”

“But we already had a ball on Christmas during the Triwizard Tournament” Draco said.

“Then Graduation! Think about it Draco: this could be amazing!” she said. 

Draco liked Elizabeth but sometimes he didn’t understand her. 

“Uhm... su-” 

“Great! Then we can start planning tomorrow after lunch”

“I can’t. I’m meeting my frien-”

“Sure thing! I’ll see you here tomorrow alright? Bye!” she interrupted him again before rushing off.

Draco was left there, like an idiot, standing with his mouth slightly open. He sighed.

———————————————————————————— 

“But why?! You love our chess games!” Ron protested loudly as they sat at the Ravenclaw table. Harry sat down at the table right next to Draco. He had been late to lunch because he had spent too much time after class with Flitwick discussing his test results. 

“What’s going on?”

“Draco is already ditching me to be with the Head Girl” an alarm sounded in Harry’s head at this words.

“WHAT!?” he screamed. Draco jumped in is seat next to him and Harry flinched.

People turned to look at him and he put on the most apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry” he said in a normal tone.

“Look, Ron, I’m sorry but it’s not my fault. She roped me into going before I could say anything” Draco apologized.

Ron huffed.

Meanwhile anger was boiling inside Harry as he heard Draco apologize once more and head out of the Great Hall with that girl. 

He watched the two’s retreating backs when suddenly the girl turned around and smirked at him before walking up to Draco and entwining their arms together. Harry nearly shattered the glass that was in his hand.

“Harry” Hermione said, trying to calm him down.

Harry got up quickly and left the Great Hall, Ron and Hermione following him quickly.

“I knew it!” he screamed as they entered an empty classroom.

“I FUCKING KNEW IT! And now Draco’s all alone with that SMIRKING WHORE FROM SLYTHERIN!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, letting out some of his anger.

Hermione was glad she had cast a quick ‘Muffiliato’ when they entered.

“Harry. Please calm down! Don’t worry, I’m sure everything is going to be alright!” Hermione said. 

Harry was pacing around the room, muttering furiously to himself. “I’ll show her...” he said determinedly. Suddenly he turned around and stalked out of the room.

“Mate, just tell him how you feel before it’s too late!” Ron shouted after his friend before sighing and shaking his head.

“We have got to do something about this, Ron” Hermione said as she furrowed her eyebrows.

“Yeah right, lock them in a room or something...” Ron joked. Hermione’s eyes lit up.

“That’s it!” You’re brilliant! That’s exactly what we need to do!” Hermione said in a frenzy as she started muttering and planning every single little detail about her plan.

“No-Wait! I wasn’t-I didn’t mean-” but it was already too late as she was already running out of the room and throwing him a hasty ‘goodbye’ over her shoulder.


	41. Chapter 41

“We can decorate the Great Hall in gold and white. What do you think? ... Draco?” Elizabeth waved her hand in front of his face.

Draco raised his head and stifled a yawn. They had been working nonstop for hours as Headmaster Dumbledore had given them the permission to throw the ball on the last day of school and thought it would be a wonderful idea. 

“Uhm... sorry, what was that?” he had stopped listening to her in favor of a quick nap.

“It’s fine” she batted her eyelashes.

“No, I’m REALLY sorry, Elizabeth. You were talking and I fell asleep...” he said as he blinked. The poor girl had been working while he slept and it wasn’t fair.

“It’s fine, Draco, really. Anyway, would it be alright with you if we decorated the Great Hall in gold and white?” she asked him. 

“It sounds lovely” he said. She nodded and reached for her quill but accidentally made a few pieces of parchment containing the ball details fly to the ground.

“I’ll get them!” Draco said before she could even move and bent down to the floor to pick them up. He missed the sly smile Elizabeth had as she quickly cast a spell that copied down his class schedule on a piece of her parchment. She swiftly placed it in her bag and sat there, looking innocent, as Draco handed her the ball plans with a small smile on his face.

“Thank you! You’re such a gentleman!” she fawned over him. He smiled uncomfortably but otherwise remained silent.

—————————————————————————————

“I told you to close the door AFTER they’d entered not BEFORE!” Hermione hissed at a guilty looking Ron. It seemed like their plan to lock Draco and Harry in a room to force them to acknowledge their feelings for each other was going to fail, as the door to the cupboard wouldn’t open until later.

“I’m sorry! It’s- Oh hey Harry!” Ron said as his friend came into view.

“What are you doing?” he asked. He was dressed in his Quidditch uniform, returning from an afternoon spent out flying, as Draco was busy with the Head Girl. He was in a bad mood because of this.

“Who? Us? We were just... uhm... checking this-this DOOR!” Hermione said as she gestured wildly with his hands.

“Yeah, Flitwick asked us to check it as it had... you know... interesting charm work cast on it recently” Ron added.

Harry narrowed his eyes.

“You two can’t lie to save your lives, I can tell you’re not telling me the truth. I’ll repeat: what are you doing?” he asked, getting more annoyed by the second.

Hermione sighed.

“We just wanted to help you, Harry... we wanted you to be happy so-”

“-so we planned to lock you and Draco in this room until you proclaimed your undying love to him” Ron finished.

Harry stayed silent for an excruciating twenty seconds.

“I can’t believe to two. Didn’t it cross your minds that maybe I wanted to wait for the opportune moment? Didn’t it occur to you that MAYBE I MIGHT WANT TO CONFESS SUCH A THING ON MY OWN THERMS? I don’t need YOUR help!” he said, letting out all of his anger. 

“We’re so sorry, Harry” Hermione squeaked but Harry simply stomped off, angry at his friends.

‘Can’t even mind their own bloody business...’ he thought to himself as he opened a door and ran straight into someone... hard. This person luckily seemed to be able to steady themselves before they could fall but Harry, being angry and distracted, fell down on the floor like a sack of potatoes. He groaned loudly.

“Oh Merlin, Harry! Are you alright?” Harry looked up and all of his anger and frustration instantly disappeared as he looked into Draco’s worried grey eyes. 

For a second he’s breathless.

“I’m fine! Sorry about that. Did I hurt you?” 

Draco smiled and shook his head no. He helped Harry get up and collected his fallen satchel. 

“Here” Draco said as he held out his hand with Harry’s bag. 

They both slightly blushed when their fingers brushed together sending electric jolts through their bodies.

Harry cleared his throat as he was reminded he wasn’t supposed to be seeing Draco right now as he would be with that two-faced bitch.

“So... uhm... where are you going? Weren’t you with little miss ‘Lizzie’?” he growled. Draco raised an eyebrow.

“Uhm, actually we just finished. I was heading back to Ravenclaw Tower. Elizabeth and I have been working tirelessly to plan that ball. I’m so tired I think I may faint!” Draco said slightly dramatically, trying to lighten up the mood.

“How was she?” he asked, letting his jealousy control him for a moment.  
Draco raised an eyebrow. Usually Harry never ignored so blatantly his theatrics.

“What?” 

“Was she good? Was she little Miss innocent and perfect? Was she batting her eyelashes at you?” he growled out jealously. Draco frowned this time. 

“Uhh...” Draco backed away slowly and suddenly he felt his back coming into contact with a wall as Harry pushed against him, pinning him to the stones. If anyone were to see them like this they would certainly get the wrong idea.

“Did she stick out her ass like the whore she is? Did she flash you her breasts from under her slutty shirt? Let me guess: she didn’t wear a bra, didn’t she? Wanted you to take her there and then... well guess what Draco? You’re mine. You’re mine and mine alone” Harry breathed into Draco’s ear, making him shiver. Where had all of this boldness come from? 

Draco couldn’t help but feel intimidated yet at the same time turned on by his crush so blatantly staking his claim on him.

He let out a shaky breath as Harry kept on breathing lowly into him.

Harry’s head pulled back slightly so now their lips were so close they could feel their breaths mingling; there was hardly any space between their bodies as well. Draco looked at Harry’s lips and subconsciously licked his own.  
Harry’s eyes drifted to Draco’s own ones.

Draco leaned in very slowly...


	42. Chapter 42

“Draco! Draco, where are you?” a voice sounded from the far end of the corridor as steps could be heard echoing down the hall.

Draco and Harry sprang apart just as Elizabeth speed walked around the corner.  
Harry immediately sneered as he managed to calm down his blush slightly. He glanced back at Draco who seemed to be just as flustered as he was.

“Hey Draco!” she said with a sweet yet seemingly fake smile. Harry noticed she only acknowledged the blond.

“Hi” Draco said in a low voice as he cleared his throat. He looked adorably embarrassed as the red tint to his cheeks highlighted his pale complexion and cheek bones.  
Elizabeth didn’t seem to notice this.

“I have very good news: you and I will be going to the graduation ball together!” she said happily as she latched herself to his side and gripped his arm. Harry tried to keep his jealousy in check and barely stifled a groan.

“Oh...” Draco tried to hide his disappointment. He had wanted to go with Harry. 

“Why does he have to go with you?” Harry asked/protested. 

“Because. I am THE Head Girl! And besides, there’s a school rule that says so” she smirked at Harry, making sure only the brunette could see her.

“Why you li-”

“It’ll be absolutely amazing, Drakey! I have to rush away but I’ll see you later in the Head Dorms!” she kissed Draco on the cheek and proceeded to walk away, completely ignoring Harry.

Harry saw red.

“Bitch” he whispered so lowly Draco didn’t hear him.

‘How dare she! Kiss him right in front of me and... wait-‘

“Head Dorms!?” he asked out loud “You didn’t say anything about Head Dorms!” 

“Oh yeah, it’s a fairly recent development from just yesterday actually... Elizabeth found a school tradition that Head Students have their own dorms. So... uhm... I guess I’ll be moving in with her in a few days...” Draco blushed. He really didn’t see why it was necessary for him to be with her all the time as in the Head Dorms he would be all alone, separated from his friends.

And then suddenly he remembered something.

“What if Elizabeth doesn’t like Snoodle!” he said “I can’t leave him behind! He’s my best friend!” Harry knew Draco meant his non-human best friend.

“She’ll just have to accept him, Draco” 

If Harry had thought Draco couldn’t get any cuter then he was wrong.

“Yeah but what if she doesn’t like him!” he was rapidly gaining some color to his cheeks (again) as he ranted on about his beloved pet and of how little he had been seeing him lately with all that had been going on.

“Don’t worry, Draco, I’m sure Snoodle still loves you even though you haven’t been spending a lot of time with him like you used to before you had all of this responsibilities. Besides, screw Elizabeth! If she doesn’t like Snoodle than who cares? I think he’s adorable and I couldn’t be more grateful that you have such an amazing pet in your life”

“At least now he’ll have a lot more room to hop around once we’re in the Head Dorms...” Draco said.

“Isn’t there a way you can get out of this?” Harry pleaded. 

“No. Unfortunately I can’t. I tried but Headmaster Dumbledore said it would be a good idea if we got to know each other, also it would be a great opportunity for us to work better together as we would have a place to meet up to plan the graduation ball” Draco sighed.

“But you’ll be on the other side of the castle!” Harry said. 

Draco smiled softly.

“Don’t worry, Harry. I’ll always make time for you” and then the most amazing thing happened.

Draco kissed him on the cheek.

Harry stood there blushing for the next twenty minutes before actually regaining control of his body and waking away, suddenly in a very good mood.

Harry 1 - Elizabeth 0

————————————————————————————

As the weeks passed Harry noticed Elizabeth had stopped openly flirting with Draco and had chosen a more discrete technique.  
She would be everywhere. Literally.

They studied in the library together. She sat with him at meals. She sat next to him in class. 

Harry/Draco couldn’t have one moment alone with his crush and frankly it was frustrating, seeing also as how close they had actually gotten to kissing the last time they were alone together.

Apparently the Slytherin cock-blocker knew that as well and made sure she kept Draco busy all day every day. 

Harry suspected she somehow knew Draco’s timetable and knew his habits. 

Well two could play at that game. 

“Draco, I have to show you something in the Gryffindor Common Room” Harry said as they passed right in front of the entrance portrait.

“Really? Wha-” 

“I’ll come too!” Elizabeth immediately said with fake cheeriness.  
Harry smiled cheekily at her.

“Sorry, boys only. You can wait outside. I’m sure we’ll be done in a couple of hours” he said and watched as her face grew red.

“Sorry Elizabeth. I’ll se you later alright?” Draco said, happy to get a moment alone with Harry for the first time in weeks.

As she stomped away Harry and Draco shared a knowing smile as they went in the empty Gryffindor boys’ dormitory. 

Draco sat on Harry’s bed as a few tense moments passed in silence. They hadn’t talked about what had almost happened the last time they were alone and, despite Harry’s Gryffindor Courage, none of them wanted to breach the subject again.

So, instead, Draco opted for a safer conversation instead.

“So what did you want to show me?” he asked and watched as Harry immediately smiled at him.

“Oh nothing, I actually just wanted to have you all to myself for a while” Harry smiled as he sat right next to Draco and took his hand. 

Draco smiled and closed his eyes. He let his body relax and his mind calm as he reveled in being close to Harry again.

“You smell so good” Harry mumbled as Draco leaned in to him enough so that he could smell his hair.

“Thanks” Draco replied just as quietly.

“So have you thought about what you want to be once we graduate?” Harry asked after ten minutes spent in peaceful silence.

“I don’t really see myself as business man so I think I’ll stick with Potions... or maybe Healing?” 

“I thing you’d make an excellent Healer, Draco. You’re not only kind and know compassion but you’re extremely talented. You have a gift in Healing magic and I think you should actually try doing something with it” Harry encouraged him. Draco blushed slightly.

“You really think so?” 

“Hmm, yes I do. Whatever you decide you want to become, just make sure it’s something you like. I want to see you happy. You deserve it” Harry said as he took Draco in his arms and wrapped them in a tight embrace. Draco felt warmth not only around him but spreading from inside his body, in particular his heart.

He shifted slightly to adjust himself in a more comfortable position.

“Thank you” he whispered as he buried his face into Harry’s neck and snuggled into him.

Harry didn’t say anything and simply hugged Draco tighter as he closed his eyes.

He couldn’t be happier. Everything was in place: Draco was in his arms, Elizabeth was nowhere in sight and Kate was far away somewhere. 

To be fair the only little thing that was missing was Snoodle but honestly Harry couldn’t bring himself to care as he fell asleep with his love in his arms.


	43. Chapter 43

After that Harry was sure that at least Draco could feel something for him and that meant he could have a chance with the blond.

He knew he had to confess his feelings but every time he tried to the words just wouldn’t come out. So, instead, he opted for making sure Draco wasn’t ‘distracted’ by anyone, especially Slytherin whores.

“Swart” he said curtly.

The girl looked up from her work in the Library and looked at him distastefully.

“Potter” 

“I know what you’re trying to do and I’m warning you: back off. Draco is mine!” he sneered at her as she rose up from her seat.

Harry smirked when he noticed he was still quite taller than her.

“We’ll see about that” she smirked right back at him and before he could do anything she crashed her lips against his and pulled him in for a ‘passionate’ (more like vicious) kiss.

He tried to separate himself from her but she was surprisingly strong. He gripped her hair and cheek as he tried to pull away.

He heard a shocked gasp and quick receding footsteps from behind him but couldn’t turn his head to see who it was.

Finally after about ten seconds she let him pull away. He glared at her hatefully.

“What the Hell!” he said to her.

“Funny, I was supposed to meet Draco here about...” she looked at her watch”... five minutes ago” she smirked at him. She nodded her head towards a spot behind him. As he turned around he could only frown as he spotted a satchel had been abandoned on the floor, probably by the person who had gasped at seeing them kiss earlier.

As he picked it up he instantly paled at the words written on the inside label of the bag: ‘property of Draco Malfoy’.  
He gasped in horror.

“Are you still sure he’s ‘yours’? Unlike you I actually have the courage to take what I want” she taunted from behind him.

“I don’t know if you’ve realized but you’ve just ruined your chances with him as well” he said as he turned around with the bag in his hand.

“Oh I don’t think so. You see I’ll just claim you kissed me and I didn’t want it” she smirked victoriously at him and walked away. 

Harry wanted to scream in anger.

No no no no NO! This was NOT how it was supposed to go!

As he quickly left the Library he started thinking about all the places where Draco could have gone and prayed he wasn’t in the Head Dorms as only the Head Students were allowed in there for the moment as Draco hadn’t yet told him the password (he had barely moved in there with all his stuff yesterday).

He had to make things right with Draco.  
So he ran.

————————————————————————————

He ran and ran as fast as he could, not even caring that he left his satchel there. Not caring that his legs felt like they could give out at any moment. Not caring that he couldn’t breathe.  
He had to get away from the haunting sight in front of him.

Draco couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it.  
There he had been, walking to the Library, when he had seen Harry kissing Elizabeth passionately, hand in her hair, trying to pull her closer to him. 

Did this mean Harry had only been bluffing when he had told him of how he was his and how he wanted him? But that couldn’t be! Harry was his best friend! He wouldn’t do something like that... right?!  
And yet there he was, snogging Elizabeth as if there wasn’t a tomorrow...

He thought of all the times Harry had played cruel jokes on people just for the sake of it.  
And the more he thought the more he felt hurt, betrayed, used and... angry. 

He felt hot tears make their way down his cheeks. Soon those single drops became a river of tears as he ran away towards the Black Lake, not caring that it was December and it was freezing outside. He fell to his knees.

How could he have been so stupid! All those glances, those touches, those words... just a lie. Everything had been just a joke to the brunette.

Draco felt his heart shatter.

More tears descended on his cheeks. The cold around him was forgotten by his racing mind but not by his body: his fingers were cold and his nose and cheeks were colored a warm red.

Draco closed his eyes and for the first time ever he wished he was still in his father’s basement where at least he was safe from emotional pain.

He didn’t know for how long he was outside by the lake but soon, as he couldn’t feel his body anymore, he wiped away his tears and started making his way to the castle.

He wished his feelings had never existed. He wished that the pain he was feeling would go away.

As he walked up the stairs, exhausted, he tiredly answered the question to gain access to his old dorms. He couldn’t even bear to see either Harry or Elizabeth right now so he opted to stay in his dorms.  
Luckily a little bit of his stuff remained in them so he quickly took a hot shower, got into his pajamas and crawled into bed, ignoring his friends’ worried glances and questions. 

He picked up Snoodle and closed the curtains to his bed, casting a ‘Muffiliato’

He cried himself to sleep.


	44. Chapter 44

His night was filled with nightmares and flashbacks about the moment he discovered Harry was just toying with him.

The worst thing about all this was that Harry hadn’t even told him himself. Draco had only found out by chance. 

Who knew how many times Harry had been out snogging somebody while he was thinking about how sweet and caring he was.  
Who knew how long Harry would have continued to lead him on if he hadn’t discovered this now.

“Draco...?” Michael hesitantly called him.

When Draco didn’t answer or even open his curtains, the Ravenclaw sighed and simply placed his school satchel, which Harry had returned, on Draco’s desk and left the blond alone.

Draco felt empty. 

He didn’t go outside his dorms that day and completely ignored the food his friends brought him. He didn’t even pick up a book or copy his friend’s notes.

He was heartbroken.

————————————————————————————

“I have got to do something!” Harry said as he paced around the room.

Him, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Dean and Seamus were all sitting in their empty Common Room, trying to think of a way to explain what had really happened yesterday.

Harry had looked everywhere for Draco but hadn’t found him. So instead he went back to Gryffindor Tower and explained everything to his friends and asked for their help. They hadn’t blamed him for what happened (as it was all that Slytherin bitch’s fault) but they also had told him it was also a bit his fault as he hadn’t confessed his feelings to Draco earlier, allowing that girl to manipulate both of them. 

Now the blond wasn’t coming to class or meals and Harry had no way of talking to him.

“There is a Ravenclaw boy outside asking for you, Harry” the Fat Lady informed him.

Harry sprinted to the door.

‘Is it Draco? It has to be Draco! Oh Merlin PLEASE let it be Draco!’ he thought as he opened the portrait and saw...

... Michael Corner in front of him.

He tried to hide his disappointment but failed.

“May I come in?” 

“Sure...” he mumbled.

The boy settled on one of the couches, next to Lavender, and everyone silently waited to hear why he was there. They suspected they already knew the reason.

“It’s about Draco. He’s not talking, not eating, not even studying! He literally cried himself to sleep last night and we’re worried about him”

His only comfort was that Draco wasn’t with that bitch as he was in Ravenclaw Tower.

“Did something happen with you guys? Because we Ravenclaws sure as hell didn’t have anything to do with his current...mood”.

“Didn’t he explain what happened?” Ron asked.

“Didn’t you hear him, Ronald!? Of course he didn’t: he isn’t talking!” Hermione chastised the red-head as she explained the events of yesterday evening.

Harry looked at the floor and willed the tears forming in his eyes away. He failed again as he felt one of them slide down his cheek. He hastily wiped it away.

“Oh that’s not good. Draco was absolutely crazy for you, you know! We have got to make him see that you feel the same!” Michael said.

Harry looked up. He felt a tug at his heart when the Ravenclaw said Draco liked him.  
He frowned slightly as a thought come to mind.

“Then why didn’t you tell me? All of this could have been avoided” he said.

Michael shrugged.

“It wasn’t my place to say” 

Harry frowned some more.

“Can’t you organize, like, a meeting between Harry and Draco?” Lavender asked.

“Mhhh... I don’t know. Draco hasn’t gotten out of bed all day and I don’t think anything I could do or say would make him change his mind...” 

“Could you at least inform him I would like to explain myself? Here, I wrote this letter. If you could... maybe... make sure he reads it?” Harry asked as he gave the letter to the other boy.  
Michael nodded.

“Sure thing. Draco’s my friend and I don’t want to see him hurt” he said as he thanked everyone and left their Common Room.

Ron placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

————————————————————————————

“Draco?” 

Nothing.

“Draco... please...?” 

He sighed and sat up.

“Yes?” 

“I know you probably don’t want to hear this but as your friends we’re really worried about you, Dray...” Michael said as he cautiously approached Draco’s bed and sat down on it.

“Could you at least eat a little bit?” Michael asked hopefully as he offered Draco an apple.  
Draco smiled for the first time in a while. It felt nice to have friends who actually cared about your well-being. As he bit into the fruit he became aware of his hunger and realized he was famished. 

Michael waited for his friend to finish eating before addressing the bigger issue.

“What happened?” he asked quietly as he placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder. He knew what had happened as Harry had told him, but he wanted to know what Draco had seen exactly.  
Grey eyes met brown ones.

“I don’t wanna talk about it...” Draco mumbled.

“Draco...” 

When his friend turned away from him and stayed silent Michael sighed. 

“Look, just hear him out okay?” Michael said as he set Harry’s letter on Draco’s bed and left their dorm.

Draco turned around and raised an eyebrow when he spotted what Michael had left on his bed. He leaned in and looked at the letter.  
Gently he picked it up and opened it. As soon as he saw the parchment inside he closed it.  
He could recognize that handwriting anywhere. Harry...

Should he open this even after what Harry did? 

Mostly he still felt betrayed and hurt and didn’t want to even think about how much it hurt when he saw Harry kissing Elizabeth.

He took a deep breath and with slightly shaky hands he opened Harry’s letter.

“Draco,  
We need to talk, please. I miss you and I need you to at least know the truth about what happened the other day.  
Can we meet?  
Harry”

Draco felt his eyes start to water again as he finished the letter and tossed it into the fire in his dorm.

He flopped down on his bed (taking care not to squish Snoodle) and closed his eyes.

What should he do? Meet with Harry and hear him out? Ignore this and simply try to forget the brunette?

Part of him knew he had to talk to Harry eventually because they were living together but another didn’t want him to possibly get hurt again.  
He looked at his pet bunny and, despite himself, wished someone was there with him like Sev or his parents. He knew however that he couldn’t inform any of them about what had been going on between him and Harry.

He looked at the clock. Well it was pretty late. He could make this decision tomorrow when he was better rested.


	45. Chapter 45

Draco gulped nervously as he sat in the comfortable chair in front of Dr. Dirwin’s desk.

He fumbled slightly with his hands as the woman in front of him checked his medical records and files. 

“Very well done, Draco! You’ve made quite a lot of progress since the last time I saw you! I believe that in a couple of months you’ll have regular eating habits!” the lady said to him and smiled.

Draco smiled as well as he noticed a proud look on his mother’s face with the tail of his eye. 

“Are you sure of this, Dr. Dirwin?” Lily asked as she took her son’s hand and squeezed it. 

“Oh, quite sure, Mrs. Potter. He’ll be fine, if he continues the way he has, of course” the doctor gave him a knowing look.  
Draco grinned. 

“I wish to schedule another appointment with you in about two months, just to check everything is proceeding correctly” 

Lily nodded.

Once they were outside the office Lily took a moment to hug her son.

“I’m so proud of you” she whispered in his ear.

Draco smiled and hugged her.

————————————————————————————

“Draco!” 

Draco stopped in his tracks as he recognized that voice.

He had just returned from his appointment with Dr. Dirwin and had been feeling quite happy. At least, until now...

He kept his head down and resumed walking. He heard running footsteps from behind him as a hand shot out to gently grab his shoulder and stop him.

He turned around and gazed into those green eyes.

Harry. 

Merlin he had missed him. In the three days he had successfully managed to avoid him, he had been feeling miserable.

Now that Harry had managed to finally get Draco to listen to him, every single thing he had wanted to say to the blond seemed to vanish from his mind as he lost himself into those grey eyes.

“Look, Harry, who you date is none of my business, just please don’t involve me in your stupid jokes ever again” Draco said finally when Harry only stared at him. 

Date? Joke?

As Draco turned around to walk away Harry’s mind caught up with everything.

“Wait! What do you mean ‘date’? I’m not dating Elizabeth! Also, ‘joke’? What joke?” he said quickly, desperate to get his crush to talk to him again.

“Oh please Harry, you can stop with the theatrics. You can go be with Elizabeth if you want to, but honestly I’d rather not be in your presence if I can help it” Draco said coldly.

“Draco, please, listen to me! I don’t like her at all, in fact, I detest her! She’s just a cruel bitch who’s playing both me and you and trying to tear us apart! Please, you have got to believe me!” Harry said.

Harry felt like dying when he saw those grey eyes fill with anguish and sadness.

“Why should I? Everything that happened could be explained simply: you like Elizabeth, so you kissed her, and meanwhile you were playing me as another one of your cruel pranks!” Draco said as he looked closely at Harry.  
Harry’s jaw dropped.

“What!? That’s what you think?! Oh no, no, no, no, No! You have got it all wrong, Draco! SHE kissed ME, against my will, just to divide us. That two-faced bitch knew you were coming in the Library, so she kissed me to make you think I didn’t want you!” Harry explained, praying that Draco believed him.

“Oh, please. Why would she even want to tear us apart!?” 

“Because she wants you! And she knows I’m a possible threat to her since- well...” Harry blushed.

Draco’s heart was hammering in his chest at Harry’s confession. He was confused.

“Me? But- why would she want me?” he furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

Harry got closer to him and placed a soft hand under Draco’s chin and lifted it until grey met green.

“Who wouldn’t want you, Draco? You’re smart, funny, handsome and bloody cute! Anyone would be lucky to be with you! You’re strong and brave, even if you don’t think you are; you’ve been through so much that all I would like to do is hold you in my arms forever and protect you from any danger. Your smile is contagious, just like your laugh. You’re so adorable when you blush and the way you care for Snoodle is just so loving.  
You’re so beautiful Draco, angelic both on the outside and the inside.  
I feel like I could go in forever listing all the things I like about you and that would only be the tip of the iceberg” Harry said seriously as he looked straight into Draco’s eyes.

Draco simply looked into Harry’s eyes, and found only sincerity and-and lovingness.

Harry licked his lips, realizing just how close to Draco he was.

Slowly Harry leaned in while closing his eyes. Draco did the same.

As their lips met everything around them spun and suddenly they were left alone in their own little world. 

Harry’s lips were slightly rougher than Draco’s soft ones but it didn’t matter; as the blond wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck, the brunette put his hands on Draco’s waist and pulled him flush against his body.  
He moaned into the kiss at the feeling of the lean body pressed against his own. His arms wrapped around Draco as the blond opened his mouth slightly, giving Harry access.

They didn’t really know for how much time they stood there, kissing passionately as they released all their sexual tension, before they broke apart, both breathless.

“That was... amazing” Harry said as he regained his breath.

“Do you really mean all that?” Draco asked while panting.

“With all my heart” Harry said seriously.

Draco smiled and buried his head in the crook of Harry’s neck.

The brunette wrapped his arms once more around the blond and the two stood there in comfortable silence, unaware of the person standing in an alcove close to them who had heard everything.


	46. Chapter 46

“Guys! You’ll never believe what I just saw!” 

The Gryffindors all looked up as Lavender rushed into the Great Hall.

She was slightly late to lunch.

“What is it this time Lavender?” Seamus asked as Dean rolled his eyes. The girl was notoriously known for spreading gossip that often didn’t even concern their friend group.

“Harry and Draco made up!” 

That got all the group’s attention immediately as they looked at the girl in disbelief.

“Really? Are you absolutely sure Lav?” Ron asked.

She nodded.

“Yes, I heard them because they were talking in the corridor and I was hidden in an alcove when-”

“It’s rude to spy on people Lavender” Hermione pointed out but the other girl simply ignored her.

“-they started making out after Harry confessed his feelings to Draco! Isn’t it amazing!?” she squealed as the other Gryffindors either grinned or smiled.

“About time” Ron said as he returned to his chicken leg.

“So they’re together now... right?” Hermione said.

Ron simply shrugged and kept on shoveling food into his mouth.

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled anyways.

They all looked at the Great Hall’s doors when Harry and Draco entered for lunch.  
No one brought up what they had just discussed, figuring it should be Harry and Draco to actually tell them what was going on between them.

Luckily, even Lavender agreed it would be best if they kept quiet about this.

————————————————————————————

“Sev?” 

Draco suddenly said as he putt down is quill. Sev and him were currently sitting in the teacher’s office, spending some time together. 

“Yes?” his Godfather looked up from his papers.

“What should I do after school?” Draco asked him. He had been thinking about his career options a lot lately and he couldn’t decide what he wanted to be. A Healer? A Potions Master? A Businessman? Something else?  
He had absolutely no idea at the moment and desperately wanted some guidance.

“Well, have you considered some options?” 

“Besides the ones I told you about, no. I couldn’t think of anything else” Draco mumbled.

“I like the idea of being a Healer, of helping people. But I also like Potions a lot and my family company... what do I do Severus?” Draco cried in frustration.

“Draco, unfortunately I cannot make this decision for you. However, I can say that you still have quite a bit of time left before you have to decide, so I suggest you keep your possible occupations in mind but also focus on actually enjoying your last year here at Hogwarts” Sev said as he patted Draco on the head. Draco didn’t say anything but quietly agreed with him. Maybe it was time to make a little change...

Draco smirked to himself as a plan came to mind.

————————————————————————————

“Elizabeth!” he called out before the girl could leave the Head Dorms. Things had been slightly awkward lately between them, mostly on Draco’s side. He could see why Harry had warned him about her. She was a sly one...

She looked at him innocently but Draco, who was now aware of the real reason behind all of her smiles and touches, easily recognized the look in her eyes.

“Yes, Draco?” 

“Where are you going?” he was standing at the top of the stairs that led to his room.

“To the Library. I have to start working on the details for the Prefect’s rounds. Easter isn’t that far away and I need to complete this schedule” she explained as she gestured to the piece of paper she was holding. 

“Why don’t you stay here instead? With me” he suggested with a low voice.

He smiled cunningly at her and slowly started walking towards her.

“What-What d-do you mean?” she stammered, the faintest of blushes gracing her cheeks. 

She backed away from him until the back of her legs came into contact with the sofa.

This was such unexpected behavior from Draco! Since when was he this confident!?

“Mhh... I think you know what I mean” 

Draco finally reached her and whispered in her ear.

“All those smiles, looks, touches. All those compliments and blushes” he muttered in her ear. Elizabeth inhaled a sharp breath as Draco’s hand gently started making its way down to her hand, barely grazing her skin with his touch, until finally he plucked the piece of paper from her hands and dropped it on the floor.

Elizabeth shivered and suppressed a moan when he started blowing in her ear.  
She could sense the heat from his lean body and could feel his warm breath on her neck. She ached to pull him closer to her.

This was what she had always dreamed of! However she could’t shake the feeling that something felt off...

She closed her eyes and bit her lip when his hand came into light contact with the skin of her neck just below her ear.

“Although I should tell you something first” Draco muttered softly in her ear. His hand lingered next to her ear along with his soft lips.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, desperate for him to touch her even in the slightest.

“I’m gay” he whispered in her ear and pulled back.

Suddenly she felt cold and as Elizabeth opened her eyes, she found she was alone in the Head Dorms, blushing like mad.

Damnit. What had just happened!? This was NOT supposed to happen! She had let her guard down! She had let him take control!

Wait... HE WAS GAY!? 

She stayed there in shock until finally she carried herself to her room to think about her ‘conversation with Draco’.

————————————————————————————

Draco smiled to himself.

‘Mission Accomplished’ he thought.

Hopefully Elizabeth had gotten the message and would leave him alone from now on.


	47. Chapter 47

Things were never better for Draco.

After his little conversation with Elizabeth, the Head Girl had decided she couldn’t even look at him without blushing, leaving him and Harry loads of time to explore their blooming relationship. Their friends and parents knew and approved of them. Even Severus had voiced his approval.

Now he only had to inform one other...

“I love you both, but in very different ways” he explained as the bunny on the bed simply stared at him. 

“Oh please don’t look at me like that!” Draco said as Snoodle turned around and made him face his back. 

Draco got on the bed in front of the bunny, who simply turned away from him again. 

Draco sighed softly and settled against his pillow.

“I promise you, Snoodle. No one could ever take your place” at this the bunny gave a twitch in his ears to signify he was interested in what Draco was saying.

The blond reached out and caressed his pet’s soft fur. Snoodle turned around and hopped over to Draco, snuggling into him like always.

Draco smiled and looked out of the window. The trees were green as the spring cold had started to leave Scotland in favor of a warmer weather.

It felt nice to be this peaceful, for once.

————————————————————————————

“I was thinking... maybe I could take a little trip after school. You know, see the world a bit before settling down” Draco suggested and watched closely for Harry’s reaction.

“Like a vacation? Yeah! That could be great, Draco! So where are we going? Oh, we could go to Greece for a week! Or-or maybe-”

“Uhm... actually I was thinking of going alone for a few months to travel around the world a bit...” Draco interrupted quietly while looking down.

“What?” Harry said while getting up and coming to stand close to him.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot actually”

“You’re leaving without me?” Harry asked him in a strangely low voice.

Draco backed away slightly from him.

“No, I was thinking of going away for a month or so and then of course I would come back” Draco said.

“But without me?”

“This is not about you, Harry. I just need to get away and see the world a bit before I settle down and start my life here” Draco said.

It was true. He had felt like this for a while and wanted to have a little time just to himself. To organize his thoughts. A lot had happened in the last few years and even more was going to happen once he left school. As a boy who had had limited contact with the world, he was struggling with the last of the demons in his closet. He just needed some time to deal with the fact that his life was going to drastically change. Again.

“Can’t you just take a two week vacation like normal people do?” 

Harry regretted it the moment he said it.  
Draco simply looked at him with sad and disappointed eyes. 

“You’re right. I’m not normal. I’m not like you others, I’m not fun or impulsive or hot headed. I’m unlike anyone of your other friends, Harry”  
Draco said eventually.

“That’s why you’re special, Draco! You’re so much more! You’re funny and sweet and caring and... different from anyone I’ve ever known! I respect that you want to go alone, but I just want to help you get through this!” Harry said as he gently caressed Draco’s cheek with his hand.

“You can’t... this last step I need to do alone” when Harry looked like he wanted to protest he added “Please” 

Harry looked conflicted however he sighed and agreed.

Draco didn’t say anything. He simply rested his head on Harry’s shoulder as the brunette’s arms circled around him and engulfed him in a hug. 

————————————————————————————

Draco and Harry had a wonderful time at the Graduation Ball. Even though Draco was forced to formally attend with Elizabeth, Draco spent all of the night with his boyfriend and his friends.

After what happened, Elizabeth hadn’t been speaking to him; he didn’t know if out of spite or because she was shy, it didn’t matter to Draco. All that mattered was that he would be leaving Hogwarts and starting his life as a young adult.

He had spoken with his parents and Sev about his plan to travel abroad and, despite them being a little wary of it, they agreed that it would be good if he explored the world a bit. He would be leaving on the 17th of June and would be returning on the 8th of August. He planned on visiting Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Germany, Switzerland and then finally America. 

To be honest he was feeling quite nervous about the whole thing, having no real experience with traveling alone but everything had been sorted and he was sure he could manage alone just fine.

He stood with his suitcase as he said goodbye to his family and friends. He wanted to kiss Harry so badly but didn’t as he didn’t feel comfortable with PDA yet. He settled for a long hug and Harry, knowing not to push him, didn’t try anything. They had said their goodbyes in private anyway.

“You’ll look after Snoodle for me right?” he asked. Draco had been heartbroken when he found out he couldn’t bring his pet along with him. He would terribly miss the little guy.

“Yes, don’t worry. I promise you we’ll take very good care of him” Lily said as James nodded in agreement.

“I left a note with his meal and grooming preferences. Don’t give him too many dried apple slices as-”

“We know, son” James chuckled. 

“I’ll miss you all” Draco said as he hugged his parents and Godfather. He left Harry for last as he knew he would be the hardest to leave.

As he made his way towards his international portkey he looked back one last time and waved to his family.


	48. Chapter 48

He stood in front of the door and bit his lip nervously. He had returned to England a day earlier than planned because he had something very important that he needed to do before he told his family and friends he had returned.

It had been a few years and in all of them he had never thought about doing something like this. During his time abroad he had had a lot of time to think and had concluded this was what he needed to do to fully move on. 

His eating disorder had finally been cured after his final appointment with Dr. Dirwin a few months ago. Now only one thing remained that needed to be dealt with.

“Mr. Malfoy, please follow me” the kind witch behind the desk informed him with a smile. He thanked her as he made his way through the menacing black door.

He took a shaky breath when he saw the man sitting in the interrogation room at Azkaban Prison. Fortunately the one-way glass prevented him from being seen, however it didn’t help with the flash of anxiety that cursed through him.  
His biological father had changed a lot since the last time he saw him, although he had to concede that he had changed as well.

He was skinnier and more deranged looking (rightfully so, a few years in Azkaban will do that to a man).

“Whenever you’re ready, just walk in” the witch informed him as she left the room, allowing him some privacy.

‘Come on, Draco. You can do this’ he encouraged himself as he took a deep breath before stepping into the room.

Immediately the chilly stare of Lucius’ icy blue eyes bored into him, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Hello, Draco” 

Draco tensed as he heard the voice that had haunted him for all of his life.

“Lucius” he said in a neutral voice while keeping his head high, trying to remain as calm as possible. He purposefully didn’t address him as ‘father’.

“I must admit I was surprised when I was informed you requested a visit” the older man said while watching him closely, looking for a reason as to why he had decided to visit him in prison.

A few minutes passed in silence as father and son simply stared at each other like two strangers would do.

“I forgive you” 

Lucius’ eyes betrayed his bored face as they widened considerably, because of all the things Draco could have said, he hadn’t been expecting that.

“I forgive you because if it hadn’t been for the years of abuse you subjected me to, I would have never found the Potter’s. I would have never found my best friend and I would have never known a life where I’m simply Draco, and not the Malfoy heir” he explained.

Lucius’ mouth contorted into a sneer.

“So now you’re Harry Potter’s best friend? Playing house with the Potty family are we, boy!?” he said in anger.

“Oh, I’m not Harry’s best friend...” he said “I’m his boyfriend” he added and watched as Lucius’ face turned red.

“No son of mine will be gay!” he said in anger, raising his voice slightly.

“But I’m not your son. I never was. And that’s okay, because if I were, Merlin knows where I would be now” Draco said while standing up and walking to the door.

“Oh, and one last thing. I’m going to take control of your precious family business and get rid of all those who have a shady past and/or present. I’m going to start over and cleanse it of all the darkness it has so that maybe, one day, the Malfoy name won’t be as negative as it is now” he said and left the room, ignoring Lucius’ enraged shouts.

He smiled to himself and closed his eyes as he apparated home.

————————————————————————————

He knocked on the door and waited.

A few seconds later it sprang open as Harry launched himself to Draco and took the blond into his arms.

“I’ve missed you so much” he whispered into his ear while placing a kiss onto the pale skin of his neck.

Draco smiled but didn’t say anything, opting to just tighten his hug around Harry. Soon it was time for them to part as the brunette took Draco’s suitcase and deposited it onto the hallway floor while Draco said hi to his parents.

“Where is he?” he asked.

Lily immediately understood who he was referring to and pointed him towards his room.  
Draco ran up the stairs and opened his bedroom door, finding the little black rabbit perched on his bed by the pillow.

As the bunny saw him his ears sprang up and he started hopping over towards him.

“Snoodle!” Draco said as he picked him up and hugged him to his chest.

“Oh how I’ve missed you” he said as he stroked the soft black fur.

Draco felt strong arms wrap around him from behind as Harry’s familiar scent filled his nostrils. 

As they went down the stairs, the family settled in the living room. 

As Draco explained what he had done and seen during his vacation and who he had visited as his final destination, he felt the curious stares of his family.

He waited nervously for their reactions.  
James got up and Draco readily looked to the ground. 

He was immediately engulfed in a big hug.

“I’m so proud of you” 

Draco smiled and hugged him back as Lily and Harry joined them. He closed his eyes.

Finally, he was home.


	49. Chapter 49

Draco could feel he was laying on something hard and uncomfortable. 

He opened his eyes and immediately frowned at the pain he felt in his body, like he couldn’t move. The room was familiar: it was the cell he had spent most of his life in.  
But what was he doing here? 

The smell of blood was pungent in the air as he slowly dragged himself to the box of medical supplies that had been thrown his way and started healing himself as best as he could without his wand. He looked at his body and couldn’t help but see the differences: he looked quite paler and skinnier with bruises and blood staining him all over.

Also, where was Harry? And Snoodle?

“You’re pathetic” a voice drawled from behind him. He froze as he recognized it immediately. It was Lucius’.

“Hearing you moan out ‘Harry’ like a bitch in heat... disgusting, faggot! You really thought it was all real. You’d like that wouldn’t you, you useless worm. You’d like for someone to actually want you in this world. You’d like that somebody would come and save you. Well, I wouldn’t waste my time. No one cares about you. No one wants you!” 

‘No’ Draco thought.

It couldn’t have been just a dream! What kind of a dream was so detailed!?

“Awww are you going to cry? You’re weak! You’re not worthy of the Malfoy name!” Lucius said as he advanced menacingly towards him.

“No” Draco whispered as he looked to the ground, which was covered in dark red blood.

He tensed as he felt Lucius move to strike him.

“NO!” he cried out louder.

Suddenly everything disappeared as he sat up in bed, panting. Looking to his right he saw Harry’s sleeping figure was laying next to him.  
He checked just by the bed and saw Snoodle was sleeping on his pillow.

‘What the hell just happened?’ he asked himself as he got out of bed and went downstairs.

Harry and him had bought themselves a penthouse in London so they could both be close to work. Draco’s family company had been doing very well so far under his lead while Harry had started Auror training only a few weeks ago.

He poured himself a glass of water and accidentally dropped it when he felt a presence behind him. 

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked in a sleepy voice.

Draco’s panic instantly disappeared as Harry’s warm body pressed against his back, placing his chin on Draco’s shoulder.

“Nothing. Just a bad dream” Draco answered in a whisper. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No, not really” 

“You’ve had bad dreams before and never reacted this strongly after” Harry noted as he cleaned up everything with a simple flick of his wand.

“I’m fine. Let’s just go to bed” Draco said. 

As he laid back down and snuggled into Harry’s body Draco couldn’t help but feel safe and loved.  
Everything was in its proper place and nothing could ever take that away from him.  
Not even his wretched father.

He smiled as he fell asleep.

~The End~


	50. Chapter 50

A/N 

I would like to thank all those who read and followed this story and supported me while I was writing it. I really appreciate it!  
I enjoyed reading all your comments and all the ideas and theories you came up with. Some of them really inspired me and kept me going.  
I already have a few ideas for a new story so stay tuned if you enjoyed my writing!

Thank you all!  
🌹


End file.
